


New Perspectives

by unknowableroom_archivist



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Mystery, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2007-06-07
Updated: 2008-03-18
Packaged: 2019-01-19 14:58:48
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 29,435
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12412521
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/unknowableroom_archivist/pseuds/unknowableroom_archivist
Summary: [AU] Paris. The city of romance. But it doesn't matter to Lily - she's got work to do. Her friend Lia says differently, though, and drags her up the Eiffel Tower, where Lily meets a man. A man that teaches her all the little things she's forgotten about life. Now, if only she could tell him who she really is... ...





	1. A Chance Encounter

**Author's Note:**

> Note from ChristyCorr, the archivist: this story was originally archived at [Unknowable Room](http://fanlore.org/wiki/Unknowable_Room), a Harry Potter archive active from 2005-2016. To preserve the archive, I began manually importing its works to the AO3 as an Open Doors-approved project after May 2017. I e-mailed all creators about the move and posted announcements, but may not have reached everyone. If you are (or know) this creator, please contact me using the e-mail address on [Unknowable Room collection profile](http://www.archiveofourown.org/collections/unknowableroom).

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

**Author’s Note:** I know I should really finish stories before I start new ones, but this idea popped into my head last night, and I knew if I didn’t get it down soon I’d forget it. It may turn out pretty good, or it may not, who knows? If I get into it it’ll be good. Also, for those of you that may be interested, this is also posted at FF.net.

Should be around ten/elevenish chapters in total… anyway, here’s your summary:

**Summary:** _AU_

Paris.

The most romantic city in the world – if only Lily had someone to share it with.

Well, she has her guy-magnet friend Lia, but when she’s flirting with strange men that she’s just met half the time, even the vibrancy of Paris can get a little… lonely.

But they’re not only here for leisure… oh, no. Lily and Lia, both as up-and-coming Aurors, have a very important job to do – secure a truce and an alliance with the French Ministry of Magic, so that they can get a little help against Lord Voldemort’s army of Death Eaters and Dark creatures back home.

But Lily’s such a workaholic anyway, it doesn’t matter that she can’t enjoy herself. Until one day, whilst on the Eiffel Tower, she meets a man. A man that teaches her how to live, how to let go, how to have fun, how to remember the things she’s forgotten were like. One that shows her the true meaning of life lies not in her work, but in howshe chooses to live. One that she ends up falling, far too deep for.

Now, if only she could tell him who she really was…

_But sometimes, things aren’t just quite what they seem._

So… enjoy.

_Rated for language and some adult themes that may appear in later chapters._

~~~**~*~**~~~

**Chapter One**

**A Chance Encounter**

“So what did Maddie say?”

I sighed, drummed my fingers against the table, and stared out of the window.

“She says they’re still thinking about it.”

Lia, my best friend and partner-in-crime (or, rather, anti-crime), groaned, and flopped down onto her bed.

“They’ve been thinking about it for the past week! When’s the next meeting you set up with her?”

“This afternoon, why?”

“Because I’m going with you this time.”

“What?” I whipped my head around so fast to look at Lia that my neck made a wincing _crack_ , indicating that I was most likely to going to have a crick in it for the rest of the day. “I thought we agreed on this back home; you stick to what we planned as your job, and I’ll stick to mine. That’s the way it works, and how we all stay safe – for all you know, we could be being watched.”

“Number one,” Lia replied, holding up one finger. “I’ve done about as much as I can on my job, but it’s like looking for a needle in a haystack. Number two,” - she held a second finger up - “Clearly, you suck at this, and could stand to use a little help.”

“Lee…”

“One meeting won’t hurt, Lil.”

She fixed me with that annoying steely-eyed stare, showing that she wasn’t going to give up without a fight.

I sighed. “Fine. But if anything goes wrong, _you're_ responsible.”

Lia’s face split into a smile. “That’s more like it. Now, you coming? I’m going to the Eiffel Tower today. Who knows, I might meet someone there. What?” she added defensively, catching my incredulous look. “They said act as if you’re on a relaxing break.”

“It’s not that,” I replied, trying not to smirk. “It’s more the fact that you said you might meet some _one_. You’re more the type to meet more than a few some _ones_.”

“I’d protest, but you have a point,” Lia replied, slipping on her shades and giving such a nonchalant shrug that it made me laugh. “Coming?”

“Nope,” I answered, shaking my head. “I’m going to finish off some paperwork…” I reached into one of my bags and retrieved a large file.

Lia arched a perfectly defined eyebrow, lifting her shades, representing that she was very much appalled at my decision to stay _in_ , on a beautiful summer’s day like this.

“Darling, you have _got_ to be kidding me.”

“Why?”

“Lily.” Lia sat down next to me, with a serious look on her face. She removed the shades completely to give me that annoying look again. “You _cannot_ come to Paris and _not_ go to the Eiffel Tower – or do anything else, for that matter. It’s like the laws of _nature_. If you pass over anything in Paris for anything like this _fucking paperwork-_ ” she again eyed the sheets with disgust, “-then you deserve to be Avada Kedavra’d.”

She plucked the file in my hand away from me and gave me a pointed look.

I leant forward slightly. “Lia,” I replied, with an equally serious look on my face. “There are _some_ of us who do not have the luxury of a large family fortune, and have to actually _work_ for a living.” I snatched my file back. “ _Some_ of us can’t afford to lose their jobs. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have some work to be getting on with.”

I returned my attention to the file, pulling out a sheet of parchment and began scratching a sentence out with my quill, aware of the funny look Lia was watching me with, but ignoring her otherwise.

“Then why the hell did you agree to come along to Paris with me? We’re not just here to work, although you’re making me feel guilty for going out all the time. It’s like you’ve forgotten the meaning of _life_ , ever since that prick broke up with you. How long has it been since you’ve really had fun, Lil? Two years?”

The quill paused, and a smug smile crossed the blonde’s face as she glared at me.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

The reply came rather pathetically.

A scowl now graced Lia’s face.

“Lily Evans, you know perfectly well what I’m talking about. Look at you! You haven’t been on a proper break since before we left Hogwarts, you bury yourself in this mountain of crap you call _work_ , you don’t know what the bloody sun looks like anymore, and you sure as hell have forgotten how to have _fun_.”

“I have not,” I protested feebly.

Lia crossed her arms and glared. “When was the last time you went to a party?”

“That party you insisted on throwing for my birthday last month which turned out to be some strange excuse for you to jump into bed with Emmeline’s brother.”

Lia opened her mouth but then closed it again as she remembered. A dreamy smile crossed her face.

“Oh yeah…”

I rolled my eyes.

Lia shook her head, waking up from her daydream. “Anyway, that’s not the point. What I meant to say is, you are going to have to start fucking _living_ or you’re going to turn out like Professor McGonagall.”

I raised an eyebrow. “And what is that supposed to mean?”

“Simple,” Lia replied, turning away to search through one of her many suitcases. “You will turn out with no life, living in a big castle teaching a bunch of bratty kids how to wave a wand around and end up having to clear after them when they blow up a classroom.” She tossed me a dress. “Put it on. You and I are going to have some _fun_.”

~~~**~*~**~~~

Paris. 

The most romantic city in the world, below my feet, stretched out like a canvas before my eyes. Sparkling in the sunlight, the River Seine added to that mysterious, romantic glow of the already amazing city. I could see everything from up here, the most incredible city in the world…

So why the hell was I here alone?

Somewhere off to my left, I could hear the flirtatious giggles coming from Lia, as she chatted to (or up) some guy she just met. That Universal Dialect Charm was _really_ coming in handy for her…I loved Lia to bits, but sometimes she could be so infuriating…

That was the trouble with being best friends with such a beautiful girl. You tended to become invisible very quickly, and paled dramatically in comparison. Usually I didn’t mind, but it kind of sucked when you were alone on the Eiffel Tower, in the most romantic city in the world, and your best friend was flirting with the fifteenth man she’d met since we’d been on there (one hour).

It didn’t help that _Lia_ was the one that had forced me away from my work in the first place to drag me up here, and it didn’t help that _Lia_ was the one who was now abandoning me.

I rolled my eyes at the series of giggles that was escaping from my friend, who had successfully attracted the attention of three other men, and turned my head towards the right to see the view –

\- but paused, when I found the man on my right watching me. He had a raised eyebrow, and his amused hazel eyes glinted behind his glasses. My immediate reaction, of course, was to blush furiously when I saw how _attractive_ he was…

_Don’t think like that, Lily._

Quickly, I regained my composure and raised my own eyebrow.

“May I help you?”

“I was right,” he said, by the way of a reply. The first thing I noticed about his voice was how unbelievably profound his accent was. “You _are_ English.”

“And so are you,” I replied calmly. “But that doesn’t answer my question.”

The man smirked – _infuriating little...!_ – and I noticed the whiteness of his teeth. He gestured towards where Lia was letting off a stream of giggles, attracting even more male attention.

“Friend that attracts too much attention?” he asked. “Too flirty for their own good? Annoying, isn’t it?”

“Usually isn’t,” I replied, wondering why I was still talking to this stranger. “But there’s something about this place…” I waved a hand in the air rather vaguely.

The man’s smirk disappeared, and was replaced by a more genuine, yet heartbreakingly handsome, smile. “How do you think I feel? I livehere with _my_ attention-over-attracting friend.”

I rose an eyebrow again. “And there’s me thinking you were another tourist, like me.”

“Nope,” he shook his head, and then adapted a Cockney accent. “Born, bred, schooled in merry olde England, I was,” – his accent morphed into a more sophisticated French one – “But I moved to ‘ze _romantique_ city of _Paris_ four years ago. Haven't looked back since - but there's some things that I miss.”

“Yeah, you gotta love that rain.”

The man laughed, a very attractive laugh, I noticed. Again, at this thought, I turned red – what was I _thinking?_ I had only just met this man, yet I found myself inexplicably drawn to him.

_You don’t even know his name! You’re not Lia, Lily. You don’t have her confidence and that thing that makes her jump into bed with any guy she wants!_

_Yet there’s something so deliciously tempting about him…_

I flushed again at the thought.

“…so what’s your story?” I heard him saying.

I opened my mouth to reply, and the next words that flowed out of it both shocked and surprised me.

“Buy me a coffee, and maybe I’ll entertain you.”

The man grinned –I blushed (again). I had _never_ been so forward to a man in my life, ever. Not even back in Hogwarts, during my hormonally driven teenage years, when I wasn’t so afraid of being brazen.

What shocked me more was that the stranger actually obliged, leading me to one of the small tables. Five minutes later, I was holding a cup of coffee in my hands, eyeing my newfound companion with a small smile on my face.

Lines like that would neverusually work for me. Sure, they worked for Lia, who had never seemed to lose confidence in herself and had a way with men like a siren, but never for me, even when I did use them.

“Well?” he asked, sipping his own drink.

“My mummy always told me not to talk to strangers,” I answered, adopting an innocent tone with a pair of equally innocent eyes.

_What am I doing?_

He humoured me. “If you knew my name, would we still be strangers?” he asked, his own innocent tone betrayed by the grin on his face.

_I could get used to that grin… no! What is wrong with me?_

“I guess not.”

_Stop it, Lily._

The man lifted his cup in acknowledgment. “James Potter, mademoiselle, at your service.”

_James Potter_?

The wizarding world currently had precious few half-decent Aurors, and even fewer amazing, celebrated, name-that-will-be-remembered-in-history ones. Alastor Moody was one of these, as were the Longbottoms, Frank and Alice… myself and Lia were nearing that list if we pulled off what we were hoping to with the French Ministry… and a few years back, a certain James Potter also made the list.

But something had happened - nobody was ever quite sure what - something happened that led to Potter's disappearance from the wizarding world, and many now presumed him dead. The Department Of Magical Law Enforcement knew better, though, and after a mysterious hint had come in that he had been sighted in Paris, the DMLE had sent us to find him, linking with my alliance-seeking mission with the French Ministry.

_But Potter’s been missing for years… he was one of the best… we can't have found him this_ _easily. It can’t be him. Must be just a coinceidence._

“Well, Mr Potter-”

“James.”

“ _James_ , what exactly would you like to know about me?”

“Hmm…” he feigned thoughtfulness for a moment. “Your name would be a good start, I suppose.”

“My name?” I smiled coyly, taking another sip of coffee. “Tell you what, you guess it, and I’ll buy you a coffee. You don’t, you buy me another one.”

_Okay, that is it. I have officially turned into a Lia clone._

“Do I hear a challenge being issued?” James asked. “I accept!” He grinned, and held out a hand to me.We shook on it.

“Let’s see…” he squinted critically at me up and down, and after a while, his eyes landed on my dark red hair. “I suppose your parents weren’t cruel enough to call you Carrot-Top?” His face was serious, but he burst out laughing when he saw the murderous expression on my face.

“Okay, okay,” he said, gasping for breath. “Your hair’s pretty cool, to tell the truth.”

“Good answer.”

“Your eyes…” he squinted at my emerald green eyes critically, head tilting in thought. “The shape… you’re not called Almond, are you?”

“ _Felicitations,_ ” I replied sarcastically. “You’re one step closer to being pushed off this Tower.”

“Emerald then.”

“I don’t think that’s even a name.”

“How about Margaret?”

“You clearly don’t know a lot about women, do you, James?”

“I do. I’m just not doing a very good job of showing that great, extensive knowledge right now.”

“Obviously. Keep guessing, Mr. Extensive Knowledge.”

“Barbara.”

“If I didn’t like this purse so much, I would have dented you in the head with it by now.”

“Okay, I’ll be serious.” A pensive look crossed his face, but the effect was ruined when his features crumpled together in a frown – his rather attractive features.

_Fuck! I thought I’d gotten that voice under control!_

“Don’t frown, James. It’s not a good look for you. You look like a turtle.”

_Great. Now I sound like his mother._

His face straightened out for a moment, but then crumpled again. “There’s about ten thousand names in the English language,” he complained. “Just a little hint, pwetty pwease?” He gave me a puppy-dog look. I could feel my heart melt at the look…

_No! No more of this! You’ve only just met him!_

“It starts with an ‘L’.”

“Louise?”

Head shake.

“Laura?”

Another one.

“Lucy? Larissa? Leandra? Leonora?”

“Just to let you know, I prefer mocha lattes to regular coffee.”

He pouted, and I suddenly wondered what it would be like to kiss that lip…

_I spend too much time with Lia. I can’t keep thinking like this, I can’t, I can’t, I can’t…_

“Fine. It’s - ”

I was cut off by a voice calling out tome – one that I recognized all too well, and giggled far too much, in my opinion. It belonged to somebody called Aurelia Reeser, more commonly known as Lia for short.

“Evans! Quit flirting with strangers and get your arse over here!”

I rolled my eyes, drained my cup, and stood up.

“Filthy hypocrite!” I called back to Lia, who reacted by waving a certain finger my way. I stuck my tongue out in return.

James was laughing at our banter. “It was nice meeting you, by the way,” he said, standing up too.

“Likewise,” I said, holding out my hand. “Thanks for the coffee.”

Very much to my surprise, instead of shaking my outstretched hand, James chose to lift it to his lips and place a kiss upon it. For the second time, I flushed visibly, and I felt suddenly very fluttery at his touch.

“I’ll be seeing you,” he murmured. “I have a feeling that we’ll meet again.”

It took all of my self-control not to grab James and snog him until my lungs gave out.

_I need to stop doing that._

“Maybe,” I replied mysteriously, and began to turn away. “And when we do, you owe me another coffee, James.”

I walked calmly towards Lia, grateful that James could not see the relieved expression that crossed my face, but all the while aware that he was watching me walk away.

“Who’s your friend then?” Lia asked, the second that I was within earshot. “Don’t worry,” she added, knowing exactly what I was thinking, without having to look at the frown on my face. “I’m not about to steal your boyfriend from you… just curious…”

“He’s not my boyfriend,” I said, another hot flush crossing my cheeks, knowing that James was stillstaring at me. “I’ve only known him ten minutes. I’m not _you_ , Lee.”

“Ouch,” Lia said sarcastically. “Hitting me right where it hurts. My love life.” A grin spread across her face again. “Well? Name?”

The question reminded me of something that I hadn’t told him yet, and I looked over my shoulder to find James _still_ looking at me. He mouthed one word at me, knowing that I now realized what I owed him.

“ _Well?”_

I smiled, hooked my arm through Lia’s, and headed towards the elevator. Just before I got in, I turned back around and mouthed something back.

“ _Lily.”_   

 

 


	2. A Familiar Face

**Disclaimer: Same old, same old**

**Author’s Note:** Thanks to all those that reviewed last chapter!

In this chapter, as the story is AU, I’ve written James’ birth year to be 1978. Just assume that they’re born pretty recently, rather than their real birth date of about twenty years earlier, because it just makes more sense that's it's modern... at least to me. It also saves a lot of editing work, in case I throw in a twenty-first century reference by accident.

~~~**~~*~~**~~~

**Chapter Two**

**A Familiar Face**

The summer Parisian sun beat its way down to me rather lazily – I could feel its warmth through my shirt. A gentle breeze rustled by, and as ever, the sky was a brilliant, cloudless blue, with the Eiffel Tower penetrating it in the distance. Another perfect morning in a perfect place.

The so-called perfect day was, in my opinion, being ruined as we speak. Once again, Lia and I were on the verge of a failed meeting.

I was getting fed up. One week, countless meetings, no result.

Madeleine Deneraux was the French Ministry of Magic representative that we had been set up to meet with. Madeleine (or Maddie, as she was more affectionately known), Lia and I had worked together numerous times before, which was why we chose her to work with this time around. She was the most trusted employee of the French Ambassador to Britain; we were the British Ministry’s greatest hopes for the future. Naturally, it made sense for us to work together again.

France and Britain hadn’t really been on good terms, ever since the end of the last wizarding war against Grindelwald in the mid-40s. France had sent many of their best Aurors to Britain to help – about two-thirds of those had never gone back. Understandably, they were very reluctant to help this time around. Especially as Voldemort was gaining a fast reputation as the most feared and powerful wizard of the century.

Nevertheless, we thought that they could at least _reason_ with us.

According to Madeleine, however, her Ministry were more worried about being _associated_ with the British Ministry and their infamous, ruthless Aurors (much like Lia and myself). They, apparently, wanted to do what the Swiss Ministry always did, and stay neutral. Fat chance of that happening – when they get going, the French Aurors can be worse than us. Trust me, I’ve seen it firsthand. They're _lethal_.

On a different note, Lia was not very well known for her patience – she was more well known for her _lack_ of it. She had attended last night’s meeting, and had come along to this morning’s one, but already, she was showing signs of disapproval and annoyance.

“Maddie,” she said, slamming her hand down onto the table. Madeleine and I both jumped. “I have been around enough government officials to know that there’s something that is stopping the French Ministry from helping us. You _know_ that if Voldemort gets what he wants in Britain, his next step will be France. He's going to try and conquer Europe, and he'll be here first.”

“Aurelia,” Madeleine replied solemnly (she was the only person that could call Lia by her full name and get away with it). “Eet ‘ees not ‘zat I do not wish to ‘elp. I really want to. But ‘ze ambassador tells me ‘zat there ‘ees a problem _avec_ ‘ze Meenister, and ‘zat ‘e ‘as _un_ _problemè_. Everyone ‘een ‘ze French Meenistry ‘ees perfectly aware of ‘ze dangers ‘zat ‘zis Lord _Voldemort_ could bring, yet wiz’out permission from ‘ze Meenister, ‘eet ‘ees _très_ _difficile_ for us to take any _action_.”

“You never told me before that the _Minister_ had a problem,” I said with astonishment.

Madeleine ducked her head in embarrassment. “’Zat is because I only found out about ‘zis _la nuit dernière_.”

“And exactly what does the Minster have a problem with?”

“’Zat, I can ‘onestly say, I do not know,” Madeleine said, shaking her magnificent head of dark hair. “But I can say ‘zat unless ‘ze Meenister changes ‘is mind, ‘zere ‘ees nothing I can do.”

Lia sighed in exasperation, flicking her own, ridiculously (and unfairly) shiny fair hair over her shoulder, successfully attracting the attention of the table of young men next to us, and stood up (trust her to still hair-flirt during something as serious as this meeting).

“Well, I can see that we’re not going to get anything resolved today,” she said. “Tomorrow afternoon good for you, Maddie?”

Madeleine stood up too, nodding. “ _Oui_ ,” she replied. “Tomorrow, same time, same place?”

I joined them. “Of course.”

She gave Lia a hug, and then me. As she did, she whispered something in my ear. “I will do as much as I possibly can to ‘elp,” she said. “But I am sorry ‘eef I cannot.”

“No worries,” I said cheerfully, as we drew apart. “We’ll just run on over to Brussels and see what the Belgians can do.”

With a smile and a wave, she left.

Lia and I both sat back down, and she looked at me.

“Verdict?”

I rolled my eyes. “What do you think?”

She sighed (once again, tossing her hair back and attracting attention). “I was afraid of that,” she admitted. “That just makes life _so_ much more stressful… I wonder how much longer it’ll be.”

“Well, until you can find who you’re looking for and finish your mission, I highly doubt that we can do anything else,” I replied, leaning back in my chair and stretching. The sun was starting to make me feel tired. “So get cracking, Miss Reeser. We have an alliance to seal, and a country to save.”

“Fuck you,” she snarled. “I don't even know what he fucking looks like. It’s like looking for a fucking ring at the fucking bottom of the fucking ocean, I’d like to see you fucking try.”

“New record,” I replied, grinning. “You managed to say fuck six times in the same sentence. Well done.”

She threw her uneaten _pain du chocolat_ at me, which I caught easily and took a bite of.

“How is it?” she asked, her tone completely changed.

“Utterly divine,” I replied, chewing blissfully, unaware of the person that was approaching me. But I knew who it was almost immediately when I saw the shadow fall across me, and felt the presence behind me.

“I had a feeling we’d meet again.”

Even though I’d only heard that voice once before in my life, I put a face to it instantly. There was only one person in the universe that could make my heart speed up so suddenly, and could cause me to feel flustered like this. And yes, I’d only met him once.

Glaring at the smirk that was growing on Lia’s face, I replied easily, ignoring the red flush that was most likely gracing my cheeks.

“So did I.”

He appeared next to me – and sweet _Merlin_ , he appeared more handsome than yesterday. Maybe it was because I was sitting down, but he seemed even taller than his 6 foot plus, well-built frame, and that lopsided smile seemed more appealing than ever. His hazel eyes gleamed in the sun as he looked down at me.

“May I?” he asked, gesturing to the seat that Madeleine had just vacated.

“Be my guest.”

He slipped into it, and smiled at me again. “Don’t see a lot of tourists around this part of town,” he commented, gesturing for a waiter.

I shrugged. “Lia owns a place around the corner,” I said. “At least her family does, and we’re staying there. Plus, we were meeting someone here too.”

“Ah,” he said knowledgably, and turned to Lia with a smile. “You’re Lia then, I presume?”

“Yep,” she replied, holding her hand out. “Lia Reeser. Nice to meet you.”

“James Potter,” he said, shaking the outstretched hand.

Immediately, her eyebrows shot up – _way_ up - and she looked at me, with a face that clearly said ‘ _What the hell? Did he just say James Potter?’_

I sent my own look back. _‘Later,’_ it said. _‘We’ll talk about this later.’_

“So, what are you two lovely ladies up to today?” James asked, though I could tell by his look that the question was more directed at me.

“I don’t actually know,” I replied. “But I’m sure Lia has some lovely plans involving the Champs-Elyseès...”

“But of course,” she said, sipping her iced coffee, oozing an air of sophistication. “As they say, when in Paris, do as the Parisians do.”

“I’m pretty sure that’s when in _Rome_ , do as the _Romans_ do.”

She shrugged. “Big deal. Paris, Rome. France, Italy. Both European, both foreign and both excitingly exotic. Same difference.”

James laughed, sending a tingle up my spine. Almost immediately, I could feel my internal battle of the voices starting up again.

_You don’t even know him, Lily. Stop thinking about him this way._

“…so we’ve figured out what Lia’s doing,” he was saying, turning towards me. “But what about you, Lily? What are you up to today?”

I shook my head. “Not a clue.”

“Usually I’d try to get her to come along with me,” Lia added. “But it’s like talking to a brick wall. All she does is hang around our apartment, doing Merl-God knows what. Hope it’s nothing disgusting though.”

I pulled a face at her. “Who do you take me for? You?”

James laughed and turned back to me. “Well, maybe I can get you out of your shell,” he said to me. Lia and I both looked at him with interest.

“And how, pray tell, do you plan to do that?”

“I’m sure I can think of something.” He took a sip of his own drink, barely hiding his mischievous smile. He locked eyes with me over his cup, and I began to sink into those gorgeous, _gorgeous_ hazel eyes.

Beside me, Lia rolled her own eyes. She drained her glass and stood up.

“As much as I’d adore to stay and see how you plan to get Lily out of her little shell,” she said, reaching for her purse, “There is a very long street full of shops that is simply _begging_ for me to go and spend my money in. Just remember to tell me how it all goes today.” She threw a few Euros on the table and winked at me discreetly. “ _Au revior,_ darlings.”

She left.

I watched her walk away, all the while aware that James was still watching me. I turned back to him, interested in his mischievous smile.

“What exactly do you have planned for me?” I asked, smiling at his expression.

He stood up, holding his hand out to me. “Let’s go find out.”

I glanced at his hand, then to his face, back to his hand, and then at my drained coffee mug.

“Okay,” I replied, feeling the voices start up again in my head.

_You’ve only just met him! What the hell are you doing, Evans?_

A new voice popped in.

_Taking a chance._

I decided I liked that new little voice. James grinned, an amazing smile that suddenly made my bad morning brighten up significantly. He took my hand and pulled me up.

“One more thing,” I added, glancing up at him. Damn, he was tall. I glanced back at my mug. “I think you still owe me a coffee, James.”

~~~**~~*~~**~~~

Lia literally pounced on me the second I walked through the front door when I got back to our apartment late that afternoon. I pushed her off me, and steadily ignored her until I had walked to the window, waved to James, and watched him leave with that adorable grin on his face.

Then I turned back around and found Lia prepared with ice cream, ready to interrogate.

“What happened?” she demanded, shoving a spoon into my hand.

“I went out,” I replied, digging into the tub.

She narrowed her eyes at me. “Haha,” she managed to say, through a mouthful of ice cream. “Get to the good part.”

“Would you start a story in the middle?” I shot back.

She rolled her eyes. “Go on, then.”

I smiled – _good_ – and began to speak again. “Remember back in our Hogwarts days, when we would try our best to turn Hogsmeade upside down? Going into shops, messing up the displays, teasing strangers in The Three Broomsticks, scare all the owls in the Owl Office?”

She smiled dreamily. “Ah, memories.”

“Exactly,” I said. “But today was… something more. It’s like I never really knew what _fun_ was until I met James.”

“Possibly insulting to me, but I’ll take it,” she swallowed loudly, and looked at me with her blue eyes wide. “Go on.”

“He took me to the Musèe du Louvre,” I saw the look on her face. “Yes, that seems pretty mundane to me too, but he showed me that even what we find dull and boring could be fun. Lee, he can create fun from literally nothing.”

“What do you mean?”

“We didn’t actually go into the museum,” I explained. “Which was actually probably a good thing, because, knowing him, he’d probably sneak a snake in and set it loose or something… anyway, we hung around outside in the courtyard all day.”

“Sounds… _so_ not interesting.”

“You weren’t there,” I snapped. “And didn't you hear what I said? He can create fun from nothing.”

“So what kind of _fun_ did you have then?”

I threw my spoon at her for the not-so-subtle inneundo, which she ducked, grinning.

“Okay, okay. What kind of fun?”

“Well, I’m not actually sure how happened, but I do distinctly remember us being chased by an ice cream vendor,” I said thoughtfully. Lia’s mouth dropped open.

“ _You_? Miss Goody Two Shoes?”

“Yes, me. I know it’s hard to believe, but James just does that to you. I also remember us having a water fight with five six-year-olds.”

“Oh, this is too good to be true.”

“We had pictures taken and everything. Muggle cameras are surprisingly better at capturing the moment than magical ones.” I fished inside my purse, pulled out a pile of Polaroids, and handed them to Lia. She looked at the first one, and immediately her mouth dropped open – the spoon clenched between her teeth dropped too – when she saw what it involved.

“You _didn’t_ ,” was what she managed to get out, staring wide-eyed up at me.

I nodded, knowing exactly what picture she was looking at. “I did. _We_ did. He dared me.”

“Oh sweet Merlin,” she said, switching to the next picture. “What did that woman do?”

I shrugged. “Dunno. Screamed bloody murder, probably. Never got a chance to find out – we ran like hell after I dropped it down there. I assume she eventually got it out, though, seeing as how that little mouse came scampering back to us about an hour afterwards.”

Lia broke into peals of laughter. “Classic,” she said, wiping a tear from her eye. “Totally priceless. Love it. So what else did you do?”

I told her about the incident with the elderly couple, the hot dog, and the mustard.

She burst into fresh laughter, falling to the floor (her ice cream melting and forgotten).

“I love this man,” she said, giggling still as she looked up at me from the floor. “He’s doing what I’ve been trying for years to do.”

I turned away and hid a smile.

“I know.”

Lia sat up very suddenly. “Oh, before I forget… you were going to tell me why this James Potter, sweeper-off-Lily-Evans’-feet, has the same name as James Potter, super-duper-Auror that suddenly disappeared off the face of the planet.”

I turned back to her, a serious expression on my face. “Actually,” I said. "I never said that I was going to explain that. I just said we'd talk about it and the fact that he has the same name."

"Whatever. So why, exactly?"

I shrugged. "Coincidence?"

Lia’s face turned accusing. “Oh yeah? Since when have you ever believed in coincidences?”

I grinned sheepishly. “Since now. No time like the present, right?”

Lia frowned at me.“How long has he lived here for?”

“Four years.”

“And how long has Potter been MIA for?”

“…four years.”

“Exactly.”

“But it could just be a coincidence,” I protested. “There’s probably a thousand James Potters in the world, you know.”

Lia narrowed her eyes at me, and brandished her wand. A pile of folders appeared in front of her.

“James Potter,” she read from the first sheet. “'Male. Occupation: Auror. Date of birth: 18 December 1979. Age: 26 years, 8 months. Basic stats: unknown. Status: Missing In Action, four years and five months.' How long as your Potter lived here for, again?”

I squirmed uncomfortably. She _did_ have a point… if my James was the James Potter Lia was looking for, then our lives would be so much easier. But it would also mean a lot of unwanted questions, begging and pleading. And the small matter of us being charged to drag him back to a place that he was obviously trying to escape.

“Is there a picture?” I asked.

“Nope,” she said, shaking her head. “No profile picture, no newspaper article pictures, no nothing. People don't even seem to remember what he looks like; they just remember _him_. I'm beginning to think he cast a Nascondalo Spell.”

I frowned. "A what?"

"It's originally Italian," Lia explained. “Not many people know about it. Literally means 'hide me'. It's like the Fidelius Charm, except that you're your own Secret Keeper, and when you cast it, you cast it on specific people. They'll forget you, and what you look like unless you personally tell them. It's really long and complicated. But I don't know, seeing as how he would have had to cast it on a hell of a lot of people...” She looked back at me. “Anyway... are you going to see him again? Your James Potter, I mean?”

“Yep,” I replied, feeling a sudden rush at the possessive word. _Mine._ “Tonight.”

“ _Tonight_? Merlin, he’s keen. Where are you going?”

“Dinner. Don’t know where, he said he was surprising me. Just told me to go casual.” I glanced up at Lia, suddenly grinning. “Oh, one more thing,” I added, heading to my room.

“What?”

“James has a friend he’s bringing along. You’re coming with me.”

I shut my door, only to hear Lia screech from the living room:

“EVANS! YOU KNOW I HATE BLIND DATES!”

~~~**~~*~~**~~~

**Oh, and one more thing - just to clarify, Lily and James were both at Hogwarts together, but he's three years older than she is. He didn't take much notice of her, and vice versa. That's why she doesn't know that he's the James Potter she's looking for because she doesn't remember him, and he 'doesn't' know she's a witch.**

**And in case you're confused, the Nascondalo Spell will be addressed in a later chapter and in more detail.**

 


	3. A Solitary Tulip

**Author’s Note:** To be fair, I've only been writing and posting lately because I've been procrastinating from studying for exams. Now that they're almost over, I have a little more time, but considering I have four exams in the next three days, I wouldn't count on an update anytime soon. But still... enjoy!

~~~**~~*~~**~~~

**Chapter Three**

**A** **Solitary Tulip**

Is it possible to want to see someone so much that I actually want to invent a Time-Turner that will turn time forwards?

Although James had said ‘dress casual’, I still found myself spending nearly three hours getting ready for this dinner. I have never spent so much time preparing myself for a date – ever. I showered, primped and preened in the bathroom for an unnecessary amount of time, put on some make-up (only to remove it and put it back on again), and do various other beautifying routines, all of which led to me standing in my bathrobe and looking at the different outfits I had laid out on my bed.

Meanwhile, Lia did not fail to disappoint with her reaction to this little ‘blind date’. She had sworn, shouted, screamed bloody murder, took her anger out on the furniture, and actually threw an ink bottle at our boss’ head when it had appeared in the fireplace to check up on our progress (he ducked, made an excuse, and vanished in the space of twenty seconds). Admittedly, it was rather amusing watching a full-grown witch throwing a temper tantrum like a five year old.

I had chanced a look outside to the living room after the fireplace incident, to find that the couch was no longer recognizable as a couch – obviously she and her wand had been ‘venting’. But since then she had quietened down; about half an hour ago she had said that she was going to go get dressed.

She appeared now at the door, dressed far too provocatively (in my opinion) in a red dress, complete with a heavily made-up face. She looked ready for a night of wining and dining. I raised a freshly-plucked eyebrow.

“I said dress _casual_ , Lee.”

She made a face at me as she walked into the room, surveying the discarded outfits on the floor and the clothes on the bed. “Like you can talk,” she said. “ _’Dress casual, Lee_ _’_ Merlin, it’s not like this guy hasn’t seen you in a pair of jeans before. In fact, according to what you did today, he’d have seen you doing your drowned rat impression too.”

My face suddenly contorted in horror.

“Holy _Hippogriffs_ ,” I gasped. “I never thought of that! Why did we have to have that water fight?” I buried my face in my hands. “I can’t believe he’s seen me like that!”

“Relax,” Lia said in an offhand manner, randomly picking up a dark green top. “He’s seen you like that and asked you out again. Obviously the guy doesn’t care what you look like.”

She caught my expression and dropped the shirt.

“I didn’t mean it like that!” she exclaimed hurriedly. “Honestly! I’m not saying that he thinks you’re ugly or something! I meant that he’s seen you at your worst and yet he’s still into you! It’s a good thing!”

I let out the breath I didn’t know I’d been holding and relaxed. “You’re right,” I said. “You’re right. He doesn’t care about looks – he likes me for me.”

Lia exhaled too, and agreed. “Here,” she said, picking up the same top again and throwing it to me. “Wear that with your jeans.” I caught it, and looked at her doubtfully.

Just then, the bell rang and I squealed. Lia rolled her eyes, and headed out of my room. “I’ll go get that,” she said, and pointed at me. “You put that on. You’ll look great.” She closed the door behind her. A second later, I heard voices, one of which I recognized instantly and made me shiver with anticipation.

Just what _was_ it about James Potter that made me feel like this?

I looked at the top in my hand and decided to trust Lia. She was my best friend, after all…

Thirty seconds later, I stared at myself in the mirror, amazed by her ability to pull together an amazing outfit from something so simple. I smiled at myself one last time with a fresh coat of gloss, and walked out into the living room.

I found two newcomers sitting on the newly magically-repaired couch (which I suspected Lia had completely forgotten about it until about a second before she opened the front door, because there were still feathers sticking out from underneath the carpet, plus the ink stain from the broken ink bottle was still there) – one, with dark hair, grey eyes, and was almost too good-looking to be humanly possible, I did not recognize, but the other I was all too familiar with.

James had his back to me and had been listening to his friend’s conversation with Lia (who was sitting on the coffee table) in amusement, but as soon as she said: “Ah. Speaking of the devil,” he had turned around immediately and stood up with his lopsided smile on his face.

“You clean up nicely,” he said appreciatively. “Very nicely.” I blushed. Again. For the millionth time that day. James watched me with an amused smile for a second longer, before producing a single, solitary tulip from apparently nowhere and presented it to me. I was surprised.

“Oh. Thank you,” I said, honestly amazed. His smiling eyes looked down at me.

“I take it you don’t receive many flowers very often,” he said. I shook my head. “This is a variegated tulip – see all the colours? – and it has a particular meaning.”

I lifted my head up from sniffing the tulip.

“What?”

He leant close to me and whispered in my ear, his breath tickling me gently.

“ _Beautiful eyes_.”

I must have looked permanently sunburnt for the rest of the night, because my face now matched my hair. James gently took the tulip from me and tucked it behind my ear before pulling back. He waved vaguely towards the couch. “That’s my friend, Sirius. I’ve told you about him.” I glanced over to the couch and smiled as James’ friend turned around with a grin on his face.

“You must be Lily,” he said, looking me up and down. He gave a low whistle, and James shot his friend a look. “You sure can pick ‘em, Jimmy-boy. She’s _pretty_.”

James rolled his eyes as his friend stood up to shake my hand. He planted a kiss on it, and grinned at me, shooting a quick wink. “ _Lovely_ to meet you at last – Jimmy-boy here hasn’t stopped talking about you since you two met yesterday. And I can see why.” He beamed at me.

Had it really only been yesterday that we’d met on the Eiffel Tower? From all the time that we’d spent together that afternoon, it felt like years. It was odd, because I had never been comfortable getting close to new people, yet with James...

“He hasn’t stopped talking about me since yesterday?” I repeated, shooting James a raised-eyebrow look.

James glared at Sirius. “He could never keep his mouth shut about anything. And trust me, if he knows what’s good for him, the next time the words _‘Jimmy-boy’_ comes out of his mouth he’ll find himself hanging upside down from a rooftop and nothing underneath to catch him.”

“Ah,” Sirius grinned, not fazed at all by James’ threats. “But what I say is the truth. Go on, ask him. He hasn’t stopped going on about you for hours.”

I raised an eyebrow at James, who sighed dramatically and grabbed my hand, clutching it to his chest. “But of course, my angel. The time you and I have spent apart has simply been unbearable.” From anyone else, this would have sounded sarcastic, but the way he was looking at me told me differently.

I pulled my hand back, flushing red. I caught Lia’s eye, who pulled her ‘I told you so’ look.

“So I guess the two of you are already fairly familiar with Lia?” I asked, gesturing towards her. James nodded, his eyes still on me, but Sirius’ eyes slid sideways to watch her closely as she stood up. No doubt he was checking her out; the skirt on that dress wasn’t exactly a conservative length, and neither was the neckline. “Good. Shall we get going then?”

~~~**~~*~~**~~~

I almost spat my wine out as James finished his story, and struggled to contain my laughter as I swallowed. James and Sirius were already laughing uproariously, with Lia almost doubled over as she tried to get a grip on herself. The four of us were cackling so loudly it was surprising that nobody had come over to try and silence us yet.

They had taken us to a little restaurant not too far from where we were staying. It wasn’t anything spectacular, just a simple, nondescript French restaurant. There was a gentle trill of music coming from the inside (we were, obviously, dining outside), mixing with the voices and laughter of the other patrons. I immediately decided, within thirty seconds of sitting down, that I _l_ _ov_ _ed_ this restaurant – it was relaxed, somewhere for people to come out and just enjoy their night.

For the first time in a very, very, _very_ long time, I actually felt comfortable and secure with where I was. No worries, no work, no nothing.

“So what exactly is it that you girls do?” Sirius asked, as soon as we had all quietened down slightly. “James was a bit sketchy on the details.” Lia and I exchanged a fleeting look.

“We’re in law enforcement, of sorts,” Lia replied, choosing her words carefully.

Sirius burst into laughter again. Lia lost her serious expression and practically growled at him.

“And what exactly is so funny about that?”

“Nothing,” Sirius managed, gasping for breath. “It’s just that... well... just looking at you...” he waved at Lia’s outfit vaguely, although not without a sideways look at the low-cut neckline. “The dress, the shoes, the make-up... you don’t exactly strike me as the type that would work in _law enforcement_.”

She glowered at him. “And you don’t think that women can work in law enforcement?”

“Oh, no,” Sirius disagreed. “ _Women_ can. _You_ , however...”

James and I watched as Lia fired back a sniping comment, and Sirius bat one back just as easily. It was like a verbal tennis match, with them slinging their words back and forth. Or Chasers tossing the Quaffle to each other like a hot potato, whatever floats your boat.

“I’m starting to regret bringing him along,” James muttered to me in an undertone. I looked at him incredulously.

“Are you kidding me? This is brilliant! It’s about time Lia finally met someone that could stand up to her and not fall over at her feet... it’s like dinner and a show.” I winked at James, and he laughed. That wonderful, wonderful sound, like a phoenix song...

_There I go again..._

“So I take it Lia’s a little... spoilt?” James asked. I assumed the question was directed solely at me, considering the fact that Sirius and Lia were still bickering, and snorted.

“That’s just a bit of an understatement. Lia’s family are very, very wealthy... it’s not even just inheritance, because her great-grandfather was a politician, of sorts, and made a ton of money. People in her family haven’t had a problem getting jobs just about anywhere since – _and_ she’s the only girl out of five. Youngest, too. She's been especially spoilt since her mum died when she was two and left her as the only girl in the family.”

“She seems very laidback, though. And to work in law enforcement when she doesn’t really need to...”

“Well, she’s always been really – well, I wouldn’t go so far as to call her independent, but she likes to look after herself where she can. You know, prove a point. Her dad and brothers aren’t exactly happy, but they won’t argue with their ‘precious little girl’ unless she gets herself killed-” – I paused mid-sentence before I finished with ‘-by a Death Eater’ – “...or something.”

James’ hazel eyes were as serious as I’d ever seen them. Although I couldn’t really make much of a point – I _had_ only known him for less than two days. “And what about you? You two do the same job. Aren’t you afraid of getting yourself killed... or something?”

I shrugged, taking a sip of wine. “There are worse things than death.”

James gave me a clearly admiring look, with a burning intensity in his expression. It was as if he was trying to read my mind – dear _Merlin_ , I hoped he couldn’t – what with the sudden glint in his eye that made me feel like I was being probed. The amount of power that man had over me... his gaze swept over me, and I looked back at him, suddenly short of breath. For a long moment, neither of us said anything. I barely even heard the music, or the other patrons, anymore.

Then the moment broke as a voice came through.

“Until you grow yourself some breasts, you do _not_ get to comment!”

James and I ripped our gazes from each other to stare incredulously at Lia, who had spoken the extremely odd and would-go-unquestioned sentence. She had her arms crossed with a defiant expression, ready to fire back at Sirius the second he replied.

Sirius only smirked as he replied: “Whatever you say, darling.”

Lia growled – she actually _growled_ – and turned back to me. “I can’t talk to him anymore,” she declared. “It’s insulting to my intelligence.”

“Lee!”

James chuckled. “He has that effect on everyone; I wouldn’t worry too much,” he told me. Sirius scowled at him, and James sent him a look that clearly said: _And that’s for calling me Jimmy-boy earlier_.

“Thank you, James,” Lia said, shooting Sirius a triumphant look. “You know, you’re probably the first of Lily’s many boyfriends that I actually like.”

_I cannot believe that she just said that_.

I kicked her in the shin, with a clear ‘ _he-is-not-my-boyfriend_ ‘look, but she only gave me her own ‘ _...yet’_ look back. James, however, was completely unaffected. “I’ll take that as a compliment,” he said cheerfully. “Although it means that I do have to question Lily’s taste in men...”

My mouth fell open as James and Lia snickered. “I did pick you too, James.”

“True,” he admitted. “Which just suggests that your taste is improving.”

“Or it’s as bad as ever.”

“So you admit that you have poor taste in men.”

“I didn’t mean that!” I protested. I looked around for moral support. “Lee...”

Lia raised an eyebrow as she picked up her glass. “I’m actually with him on this one.”

I pouted. “Traitor.”

Sirius laughed, reminding me strangely of a dog’s bark. “Now you know how I feel, love. You must have gone out with a load of duffers in the past if _James_ is the one that meets the best friend’s approval.”

James kicked him.

I tried – and failed – to think of a comeback.

Lia was the only one that said anything, giving a thoughtful look as she sipped her wine. “You actually have a point,” she mused. She caught my expression and finished quickly. “Not about James... I mean about the duffers. There _were_ quite a lot of them. I hated Lockhart-”

“Who didn’t?”

“This coming from the girl that went out with him for a month,” she said pointedly, and I stuck my tongue out at her. James and Sirius watched her recount with undisguised interest. “Then there was Benjy Fenwick, he was kind of weird... Ludo Bagman was a bit of an oddity too, got hit by B-”

I shot her a look.

“-asketballs, too much, I reckon... Caradoc Dearborn just never seemed to be around... Edgar Bones was too into his work... Diggle was like a toy that was just constantly _on_... Diggory was too competitive and possessive, but I _suppose_ Gideon was okay...”

“Prewett?” James asked between sips of wine. “Gideon Prewett?”

Lia and I exchanged a look.

_What?_

“Yes, oddly enough. Do you know him?” Lia added innocently, her expression hiding the obvious suspicion that we both felt.

James and Sirius exchanged a look too, something that did not go amiss by me.

Sirius suddenly laughed. “Yeah, we met him a couple of years ago before we moved over here. Nice guy.”

“How did you meet him?” Lia asked, maintaining her innocent expression.

“Through a mutual friend,” James put in – rather hastily, in my opinion. “Met him at a pub, had a pint, played darts. Bought us a round of drinks too.”

“That’s because you beat him,” Sirius pointed out.

“Oh, yeah...”

Lia and I shared another look.

_This is getting far too strange._

Even I had to admit that by now.

But before Lia could ask any more questions, our food arrived and we were distracted by the flurry of movement and much plate-rearranging to press them much longer. I knew she wanted to, but I silenced her with a sharp look – I wanted to _relax_ , if only for tonight, and not talk about work. Lia being the one that constantly called me a workaholic could not argue with this.

Soon she and Sirius were arguing again, this time about English versus French cuisine, and James and I were left to talk quietly between ourselves, managing to tune out the fight going on beside us.

I leant back satisfyingly in my chair with a sigh, gazing up at the darkening sky. Still not a cloud in sight – the most beautiful and perfect day of my trip so far. That said, every other day that I had spent here had been spent working. Still, it was nice to lean back and enjoy Paris. I voiced this opinion to James, and he looked at me amusedly.

“Exactly. Why come all the way to Paris and not enjoy it?”

I looked down from the sky to see James watching me closely. The streetlights gave the impression that his eyes were glowing gold, much like a cat’s, and with an unexpected seriousness. Suddenly, I felt compelled to ask him.

“Why did you move to Paris?”

He smiled his lopsided-smile at me, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes. He lifted an arm and waved it in a sweeping arc, encompassing the restaurant, the patrons, the music, the laughter, and the Eiffel Tower glittering in the background, and replied easily: “How could I not?”

I tried a different tack. “Why here, of all places in the world? A hundred countries, a thousand cities. Why here?”

His eyes stared right into mine. “It’s the most amazing city in the world,” he answered quietly.

Something in his gaze, as I held it, told me that he did not like talking about his past. It was a forbidden topic so early on in our... relationship? And that night was so perfect up until that moment that I didn’t want to ruin it, so I moved away from the subject.

“Really? I don’t think I’ve seen enough of it for me to make that judgement yet,” I replied teasingly.

James’ expression lost its seriousness almost immediately, and the playful glint returned. “Allow me to be your guide, Miss Evans. I’m sure that I can think of a thing or two to help you make up your mind...”

~~~**~~*~~**~~~

 

The boys had walked us back to our apartment after dinner. Lia was hanging back, now resorted to ignoring Sirius as he chatted. He didn’t seem to mind, however; he seemed to revel in the fact that he was thoroughly pissing her off. James and I were quite a way in front of them, carried away as we talked. I learnt about some of his other friends, both of whom I was dying to meet, and he learnt about my estranged relationship with Petunia. In fact, it wasn’t until I almost walked into my front door that I realized where we were.

“Ow.”

James laughed, and led me away from the door by the elbow. “Careful. Doors are made for walking _through_ , not _into_.”

“Oh, so _witty_.” I tried to glare at him, but his look got to me again. “Stop looking at me like that!”

He quirked an eyebrow. “Like what?”

I opened my mouth to reply, but for once in my life, I was lost for words.

He had a point. Like what, exactly?

Ever since I had met James, he had been looking at me with that same half-smile, that same quirk of the eyebrow, same wicked glint in his eye. He managed to appear adorably confused yet still exuded his natural charisma. All of it boiled down to that look – that look he gave me that made him seem approachable yet distanced, friendly yet aloof and always intense. And when he did look at me like that –

“Like you know me,” I said abruptly. James’ expression became more amused, and he took one step closer to me. “Whenever you get that look, I feel as though you know everything about me. You know when I wake up in the morning. You know how I take my coffee. You know that I hate white wine but I can’t resist a good glass of red. You know why I always walk through a door left foot first. You know I like shoes but I hate socks. You know where I hid the pieces Lia’s favourite mug when I accidentally broke it – _and_ the cover story.”

James chuckled, allowing me to feel the vibrations as his chest rumbled from the movement. It was then that I noticed just how close we were standing, and predictably, my cheeks flushed pink. I looked away from him, unable to stop the blush growing. James placed his fingers under my chin and gently tilted my head back until I was looking into his eyes again.

“There is one thing,” he said softly, his eyes searching for a reaction. A lump grew in my throat, and I swallowed, my breathing suddenly hitched and irregular. “One little... but significant... thing that I don’t know about you yet...” He slowly lowered his head, his fingers soft and gentle on my chin as he tipped my head upwards to meet his. I could feel his warm breath lightly grazing over me, and my eyes fluttered shut.

His free hand skimmed downwards to my waist, gripping it tightly as if afraid I would vanish, and I jumped slightly at his touch. I could feel myself unwinding, ready to release myself into the moment when –

“What the bloody _fuck_ is your _fucking_ problem?”

Hearing Lia’s voice, I instantly sprang back from James, my breath coming out in gulps. James moved back too, albeit slightly more reluctantly, his hand springing to ruffle the hair at the back of his head and shoving the other one in his pocket. Lia stormed obliviously past the two of us, the door springing open so quickly and loudly I was sure she had blasted it down with her wand. Sirius appeared a second later, a wide grin on his face.

“What, no goodnight kiss?”

A long-suffering, strangled shriek came from inside the apartment, and next second James and I ducked as one of Lia’s shoes hurtled over our heads with deadly precision at Sirius. Luckily, he caught it easily and called: “You’ll have to try better next time, love!” as James and I stood back up.

Another muffled shriek came from inside, followed by a door slamming loudly. Sirius turned to me and winked, handing over the shoe. “Tell her I’ll look forward to seeing her again,” he smirked. “It was nice meeting you, Lily – James, I’ll meet you downstairs.” Sirius waved, and disappeared into the stairwell.

I looked at James and shrugged helplessly. “I guess I should go calm her down before she breaks something,” I said. James nodded, laughing.

“I think you should.”

I reached over to him timidly and kissed him on the cheek, lingering slightly longer than necessary. “Thanks for a great night out.”

I heard him gulp, and smiled to myself, pleased that I seemed to have this effect on him. “No problem. I’ll call you tomorrow.”

I backed away, my eyes never leaving his.

“Good night, James.”

I shut the door, too soon to hear James’ gentle murmur.

“Good night, Lily.”

~~~**~~*~~**~~~

As soon as the door was closed, I slumped against it, exhaling in – was it relief? No, disappointment.

So, so close.

Meanwhile, I could hear Lia storming about in her room, muttering about this or the other. She reappeared in her PJs a moment later, looking very young without all of her make-up plastered all over her face. She thundered towards the kitchen, still muttering under her breath.

“ _Bloody_ bastard... so _damn_ arrogant...”

I closed my eyes as I savoured the memory of what had happened barely two minutes ago outside in the hall. I could still feel the warmth of James’ skin against mine...

“Thinks he’s _fucking_ Casanova...”

...the smell of his freshly-laundered shirt...

“Don’t _bloody_ know who he thinks he _bloody_ is...”

...the sound of his voice, his laughter...

“It’s all your fault, Lily!”

...the look of... wait a minute. What?

“What?” I said aloud, snapping my head up to see Lia’s azure eyes glaring down at me. Said eyes narrowed.

“If you didn’t _bloody_ set us up tonight, I could have lived a _perfectly_ happy life knowing that he _doesn’t_ exist!”

“Do you have to accentuate every other word you say?”

Lia’s eyes narrowed even further, her lips curling, a sure-fire sign that she would explode if I didn’t calm her down soon. I stood up quickly, and led her to the couch. “Calm down,” I said. “Don’t make me cast a Cooling Charm on you. You’d be cold, but at least you’d be still.”

Her mouth curled into a pout. “Don’t do anything like that again, Lil. Promise.”

And there goes her precious little princess act that nobody could resist (particularly her dad and four brothers). I sighed. “I promise.”

“Good.” She flopped back onto the couch, reaching for a _Witch Weekly_. “Sorry I interrupted your little moment out there, by the way.”

My head snapped up to look at her. I didn’t even realize she noticed, something that I verbalised to her.

She rolled her eyes as I did so. “Please. The sexual tension in that hall was so thick that even my dad’s pathetic Cutting Charms could have sliced through it. Besides, he had that ‘I’m-going-to-kill-you-in-your-sleep’ look on his face when he saw me. Fortunately for me, it went with the ‘but-I-can’t-because-you’re-the-best-friend-of-the-girl-that-I’m-hoping-to-shag’ look.”

“Lee, don’t be so crude.”

“What?” she shrugged, flicking through the _Witch Weekly_ with practiced skill. “It’s the truth.”

“Still...”

“Whatever,” she replied, then pulled a face. “Oh, for Gryffindor’s sake. Look at this – Lockhart’s written a book. _Break_ _With_ _A Banshee_... the only thing he has in common with banshees is the ability to scream like them, the wimp.”

I barely heard what she said as I processed her observation. Lia did have a remarkably accurate sense when it came to things like this – was it possible that James only liked me that way?

“By the way, I’ve been meaning to ask,” Lia piped up suddenly. “Don’t you think it’s a little suspicious that they both know Gideon? I mean, how often does he go to Muggle pubs and talk to random strangers as well as buying them drinks, especially during a time like this?”

I frowned, remembering the hasty explanations that James and Sirius had given earlier on this evening. Lia did have a point – they had acted rather suspiciously, and besides, Gideon Prewett was probably the worst pretend-Muggle I had ever met. Plus he was a very careful man, especially in recent years.

“It’s a shame, really,” Lia said casually, continuing to flick through the magazine. “The one time you meet a man that seems genuinely nice and into you, and he’s hiding something. Although, it does add to that whole mystery aura thing that women can’t resist.”

I brightened considerably. “Really? You think he really likes me?”

Lia sighed dramatically. “Honestly, Lil, you should know better than to question my judgement. I have four brothers – I know men, and I can tell ‘Jimmy-boy’ is _very_ interested in you, and definitely likes you a whole lot. He couldn’t keep his eyes off you all night.”

Remembering the night behind us, and what had happened, I could only agree.

 


	4. A Painful Past

**Author’s Note:** So, here is the next chapter. Sorry it took a while...

You’ll be able to understand another reason why I chose to write this story in the twenty-first century rather than in the MWPP era pretty much straight away. I didn’t even realize it until I wrote it in. For those of you that aren’t so keen on the modernizing thing, I’m sorry, but I guess there’s not much that can be done about it, considering I’ve already gotten this far. Still, sorry.

~~~**~~*~~**~~~

**Chapter** **Four**

**A** **Painful Past**

The first thing I did when I woke up that next morning was take a deep breath.

Hmm. Bliss.

It felt...calming, somehow. Relaxing. Taking in a breath of fresh air, getting rid of the old and taking on the new. I sleepily watched the curtains flutter as well as the new day’s light shooting through the room, illuminating it. It was a day where I could do something different. Do something exciting. Do something unexpected.

A sharp shrill suddenly shot through my room and the apartment.

Like answer the phone.

I jumped the second it rang, launching myself across the bed and snatching the cordless off the nightstand. Normally there would be no rush, but Lia was not a morning person and I didn’t fancy waking her at –

“ _Four thirty_?” I stared incredulously at the clock, the delicate gold hands proudly proclaiming as such. I banged my first on it, just to make sure it was still working, before turning back to the phone, and whoever it was. “Whoever you are, what the _fuck_ are you doing, calling at four thirty in the morning? Do you not fucking _sleep_ , or something?”

An amused chuckle came down the phone, one that immediately had me on high alert. A chuckle that sent a tingle down my spine, caused me to sit up straight, and shoot a look at the mirror opposite my bed, hurriedly tidying my hair even though he couldn’t see me.

“Apparently, neither do you.”

“James,” I said with some relief. Hearing his voice had a very odd, yet soothing effect on me. My voice, for one, was back to its normal tone. “Wha... how... why...?”

“Are you always this eloquent in the morning?” he teased. I let out a breath I didn’t know I’d been holding, and slumped back down onto my pillows.

“I do get slightly thrown off with men I’ve just met calling me at the crack of dawn,” I replied, equally teasing. “How did you know I would be awake?”

I couldn’t hear it, obviously, but I was pretty sure that he had just shrugged. “Lucky guess?”

I rolled my eyes, although I was unable to stop a small smile from creeping across my face. “Oh? And, why, pray tell, would you risk such a thing and disturb my beauty sleep?”

“You don’t need it,” he said seriously, and I felt a tiny jolt of pleasure rocket through me. Predictably...

“You’re blushing right now, aren’t you?”

_Damn all to hell... he’d noticed._

“How did you know that?” I asked, trying to hide my humiliation. I chanced another look in the mirror and winced at the redness of my cheeks. “Oh, for the love of...”

“I think it’s cute,” he said with a laugh. “Don’t be embarrassed.”

“How can I not be?” I sighed, and turned away from the mirror. “You were going to tell me why you’re calling me at the crack of dawn.”

“I was,” he agreed. “Look out of the window.”

“Wait a minute.” I sat up straight, awake and alert. “You called me at _four thirty_ in the morning to tell me to look out of the _window_?”

“Yep,” James’ voice came cheerfully.

“Any reason as to why this couldn’t wait until a decent hour?”

“You’ll see,” he replied mysteriously, then began to take on a pleading tone. “Go on, Lily. Please...”

I laughed, throwing the sheets off my legs and clambering out of bed. “All right, all right. Hang on.” I switched the phone to my other hand, and tugged the curtains back. It was then, and only then, that I realized one of the many reasons why I was slowly falling in love with this city.

“Oh, my...”

“Beautiful, isn’t it?”

I didn’t reply, because I was transfixed by what I saw before me. The sun was gentle in the background, although I could already feel its heat through my nightshirt. In front of me was the Paris skyline, bathed in a rich, golden glow. The sky was a soft creamy yellow, tinged here and there with pale blue, penetrated by the suddenly small-looking Eiffel Tower. And in the far distance, a hazy pink line was visible.

What completed the picture was the peace. It was, for the first time since I’d been in Paris, quiet. No cars, no traffic, no people, not even a bird. Just a gentle sort of... quiet.

“I guess the question is now,” James said suddenly – I had almost forgotten that he was there. “Will you come and meet me?”

I ripped my gaze away from the mesmerizing sight and turned back to my conversation. “Now? James, as I’ve already mentioned many times, it’s four thirty-”

“Actually, it’s four thirty-four now.”

“-and most people, most _normal_ people, are asleep at this hour.”

“We’re not exactly normal, Lily,” James said with a chuckle. “We drop things down women’s trousers and have water fights with ten year olds. We set up our friends that have a major personality clash for our own personal entertainment. We wake each other up at four a.m. and tell each other to look out of windows. If we can do that, we can meet each other outside each other’s buildings at four thirty-four – wait, four thirty-six – in the morning.”

His words sunk in and I lifted my head up in surprise.

“You’re _outside_?” I practically shrieked (but managing to restrain myself from sounding like a mouse). “ _Now_?”

“Look down.”

I lifted up the window, breathing in deeply when the fresh air rushed in, and looked down. Sure enough, James was staring up at me with a phone in his hand and an odd expression on his face.

He was _here_. Right now.

“I’ll be down in two minutes,” I breathed.

~~~**~~*~~**~~~

I quickly cast a spell to shower myself and brush my teeth (an invention of Lia’s and mine, when we were in a hurry or feeling particularly lazy in the morning), threw on some clothes and scribbled a quick note to Lia before hurrying out of the door. I practically flew down the stairs, all in my desperate and frantic dash to see James.

I pushed open the main doors – and there he was. Casually leaning against the side of the building, a smile breaking across his face as soon as he saw me. I walked slowly and bashfully up to him, despite having talked to him barely five minutes ago.

“Are we going somewhere?”

I cringed internally. Of all things to say to him, I had to state the obvious.

_Of course we’re going somewhere, you idiot... why else would he ask you to meet him?_

I noticed that his eyes crinkled in that way they did whenever he was especially amused by something.

“Naturally,” he replied. “But first...” He produced a single rose from behind him – a blue one. “Blue, for mystery,” he continued, tucking it behind my ear. “And for attaining the impossible.” He gently pushed a lock of hair away from my face, and I shivered at his touch.

“I didn’t know it was possible to get blue roses,” I said softly. James smiled down at me.

“Never underestimate my resourcefulness,” he replied, and winked. The moment was broken, but suddenly I felt a rush of anticipation – something still relatively new and exciting to me. That look on his face told me everything I needed to know.

“Where are you taking me?” I asked him, smiling at his smile.

He grinned. “To the top of the world.”

~~~**~~*~~**~~~

Next thing I knew, he had blindfolded me. Something about mystery, and surprises... obviously, I protested (hey, I liked having my sight), but I was secretly thrilled. This was – no, it was beyond anything that I ever imagined doing when I woke up this morning.

I liked the excitement and the unexpectedness that James had brought into my life. Even though I was an Auror, my work had become far more diplomatic than active lately. It wasn’t why I had chosen to become an Auror, research and diplomacy, but it was certainly what the Ministry had in mind for me. My life had become a meaningless routine of paperwork and compromises. Until I had come here.

Aurors are meant to have the dangerously exciting lifestyles. But since this war had started, everything had changed. Aurors were not just fighting and capturing Dark wizards anymore – more and more of us were needed to plan, to think, and to negotiate. There was so much chaos that everyone was not just doing what they were needed for anymore, but also other irrelevant jobs to their own.

Needless to say, the Ministry were not handling this war situation well at all – instead of fighting back, they were trying to please. Nobody seemed to understand that talking just wouldn’t _work_ with someone like Voldemort.

He liked the blood spill. He liked the death. He liked murder.

And we just crouched down, covered our eyes, and let him do it.

Paris, however, was another world. Gone was the bleak of London, the deaths and the fear. Here, I felt free. When I first arrived, I had been all about work, all about fighting. But here... I felt liberated, and sure of the world.

That had only been emphasized when I met James.

“Okay,” he announced rather suddenly, after around twenty minutes or so. “We’re here.” He began to untie the blindfold around my eyes, and I could already feel that familiar rush of anticipation that only he could initiate. The blindfold loosened and fell around my neck, and I blinked quickly at the bright sunlight already beaming down on us.

And then my jaw dropped.

The sky was already becoming steadily blue, the hint of another beautiful day. In front of me, the city was like a tiny toy town, with its little storybook houses and buildings stretching as far as I could see. Several taller buildings penetrated the skyline, along with splashes of greenery here and there. And it was so _quiet_... this early in the morning, there were no people around, with the minimum of noise and just the occasional bird twitter.

“Where are we?” I asked, barely audible.

I could hear the smile in his voice. “Montmartre,” James replied. “Just outside Sacré Coeur.” He stepped out from behind me, and jumped up to sit on the stone railing. “First time I came here, it was like something out of a-”

“-Fairytale,” I finished for him, still stunned by the view in front of me.

“Exactly. There’s no other place like it in the city. The Eiffel Tower’s view is just... different. Plus you feel weirder when you’re bound back from complete appreciation through metal, instead of stone like here.”

“There’s just the added bonus of a smaller fear of falling to your death,” I added teasingly, finally turning to him. James threw back his head and laughed, and I felt a small shiver of pleasure shoot through me.

_I made him laugh_.

“That too,” he said. “When I first moved here, I came here during the peak tourist season. People were _everywhere_... I just felt like it ruined the serenity of the area. There wasn’t really much room to – _feel_ , I suppose. But I knew that the landscape up here was amazing, so I came back here at dawn, and it was perfect. No noise, no people, just quiet...” He looked at me, a smile crinkling his eyes. “Just the place for peace.”

I smiled back at me, and turned back to the breathtaking view in front of me. He was right, it was perfect. Peace and quiet. Some time to think.

“I don’t get a lot of this, back at home,” I said suddenly. I didn’t turn to look at him, but I felt James suddenly perk up and stare at me. “Peace and quiet. I mean, I do a lot of paperwork and desk work – perhaps more than I’d like – but the office is just so _busy_ all the time. Everytime you sit down and think that you finally have five minutes to yourself, somebody bursts in with a new tip-off and everyone’s up and about again.”

James frowned. “I thought you were in law enforcement... doesn’t that mean you get a lot of active work?”

“Not as much as I’d want,” I replied. “Lia’s the one that does all the leg work. I do the thinking, the planning, the negotiating, the cleaning up after the mess. I suppose my department thinks I’m too much of a strategist to spare me on the front line, although that’s what I really want to do. I signed up to fight back, to prove a point – but apparently, I’m better ‘with the words’ than with combat.”

“Surely talking is better than fighting? There’s less death, and fewer injuries.”

I shook my head. “Not with the guy that we’ve been after. I’ve spent so many hours researching what he does and how he does it that I know that negotiations won’t work with him. What he wants is completely inconceivable and unacceptable. What he wants... we’re talking along the lines of genocide here.”

James’ eyebrows went up. “I didn’t know things were so bad in England. I didn’t know there was a killer so...”

“Far-fetched? Exaggerated?” I suggested dryly. “Psychotic?”

“Well, for lack of a better term, yes. Psychotic.”

“There’s a lot of things the public don’t know,” I replied, staring out at the view again. “There are things we choose not to tell them to protect them. Fear is this man’s strongest weapon, and we’ve got to eliminate that where we can. My department seems to think that we can compromise with him. But we can’t. I know this man; I’ve studied his every action. He’s not going to budge; he’s only going to fight. As far as he’s concerned, there is only one solution, and we can’t change his mind. The only thing we can do is fight back.”

Despite the seriousness of the conversation, James’ mouth quirked in an amused smile. “Funny, that. I see you more of a lover than a fighter myself.”

I didn’t say anything, and he looked at me concernedly.

“Lily? Are you okay?”

I looked up at him, his patient, genuinely concerned face, and I felt... trust. Gratitude. felt that I could confide in him and tell him everything, just because.

“Do you know why Lia calls me a workaholic all the time?” I asked him. He shook his head. “There’s a real reason behind it all... and I’ve never really talked to anyone about it.”

“You don’t have to tell me either,” James said gently.

I breathed in, and out again. “It’s okay. I want to.”

~~~**~~*~~**~~~

“Six years ago,” I said slowly, trying to find to right words. We were slowly walking back down the hill, back to reality and civilisation. “I was just about to leave the school I had been part of since I was eleven years old. I was eighteen, full of idealisms and expectations about life. I was young, optimistic, naïve... and in love.”

I saw the flash of surprise that crossed James’ face at my words, but he stayed quiet and listening, something that I was grateful for. I didn’t know if I had the courage to carry on if he interrupted – it had been forever and a day since I had voluntarily spoken about my past like this.

“The world that I’m part of is in the midst of a...” I hesitated, knowing that I shouldn’t say too much, but I felt like I had to. “...war, I guess would be the best word. Most of the people in my year joined the defence forces that were building up, whether it be in government, privately or both. Lia and I were some of those people.”

I stopped at that point, because I didn’t know how to continue. Things became a little hazy at this point in my life, and it was always difficult for me to talk about it.

“Back then, I had fallen in love for the first time. I honestly thought that we were going to be together forever – we had been together for nearly two years at that point, and I know that he loved me too. We had talked about getting married before... but then something happened.

“Lia and I were just beginning training for our new jobs, and my boyfriend had his own work. I never knew anything about what he did, and whenever I questioned him, we would always get into this big fight. After a while, I just kind of... gave up. Things got a little better, and after a few months, he proposed to me. I accepted, and I don’t think I’ve ever been happier in my life... and as it turns out, that was the _last_ time I remember feeling truly, elatedly happy. “

I swallowed heavily, dreading what was coming but knowing that I had – I _wanted_ – to continue.

“I fell asleep that night feeling like the world was only going to get better at that point. It didn’t matter that people were getting killed, or tortured, because I knew that everything was going to be okay. Then something woke me up – and I was being attacked. Everything that happened that night was so blurred, but the gist of it is that... he, my boyfriend, was actually working for the other side. He was working for everything that I had stood against my entire life. He had been part of it since before he met me, since he was sixteen.

“He had been told to get close to me, to gain my trust, to make me fall in love with him... to kill me.”

James shifted slightly then, but I was on full steam right then and didn’t notice.

“It turns out that he had drugged my drink that night. He picked that night to propose to me, purposely throwing me off my guard, and weaken me to the point where he and his... _friends_ could take me out. He had brought in his people when I was sleeping, and they attacked. I don’t really remember what happened, just that when I finally realized that I might die, Lia and some of our friends and colleagues burst in and took them all out. He escaped. I was left there, just... shocked. All I did was stare. I was numb. I had been betrayed.

“I spent a month in hospital because the drug he used was partly poisonous. And then I took another month off to recover emotionally. It was a huge shock, a huge lie that I had been living for nearly two years. After that, I threw myself into my work. I wanted to stop what happened to me happening to some other poor, unsuspecting girl out there. I wanted to end all the pain that these people caused. I wanted to stop him.”

“You wanted revenge,” James said quietly.

I paused. “In a way, I suppose I did,” I agreed. “But it was so much more to me than that. Betrayal is the most terrible thing that anyone could ever experience, or ever do to anyone else. I loved him, so, so much, and he betrayed me. He devoted himself to a cause that meant nothing but death and destruction, and I wanted an end to that. But, as it turns out...”

This was the most difficult part of my story.

“...his leader, his Master, was not happy that he failed. In fact, he was furious that he had spent nearly two years working on me but ultimately failed in the end. He had numerous chances to kill me, and he still screwed up. His Master killed him – and sent his decapitated head to my office.”

James did not wince; instead, he automatically wrapped an arm around me and drew me into a tight hug. I felt the tears start to pour down my face, and I let him comfort me. I had needed this for a very long time.

After several minutes, I drew back and dabbed at my eyes. I saw his soaking shirt, and managed a weak smile. “Sorry for ruining your shirt.”

James shrugged, smiling kindly. Not mockingly, not with pity... just kindness. “It’ll dry in two minutes in this weather. Don’t worry about it.”

I laughed slightly, and continued. “It was then that I truly realized that this man, the one that we were trying to stop, was nothing more than a murderer. He didn’t care about anyone that worked for him, or anyone around him. He only had one goal in mind, and it was all about him. Everything is about him. My boyfriend had devoted himself utterly and completely to this man, and where did that get him? He may have betrayed me, but I still loved him, and believe that he loved me too, in his own way. That’s why I threw myself into my work to stop this man, this murderer, before he ruins any more lives.”

“Even at the expense of your own?” James questioned softly.

I nodded.

“That year... that night, those months I took off, it all changed me. I used to be this carefree girl, fun and full of life and ideas. I could have been Lia’s twin, but then that happened, and I just... broke, I suppose. Nothing means anything to me anymore until we can end that war, and kill that arse that fucks up everyone’s lives. That’s why Lia keeps saying I don’t have any fun anymore, or enjoy life anymore.”

“You’re willing to do anything it takes?”

“Anything and everything. At least, that was my philosophy...” I looked up at James, his hazel eyes glinting in the rising sun. “Until I met you.”

James’ concerned expression morphed into a playful, teasing one. “Oh? How have I changed you?”

“I found it hard to trust men after him,” I explained, a smile now hinting at my lips. “I keep meeting these men that are perfectly good men barring the character flaws that Lia mentioned last night.” Here, we both grinned. “But you... you’re the most mysterious, most complex, most _secretive_ man I’ve ever met, yet I find myself inexplicably drawn to you.”

“It’s not completely inexplicable,” James declared, his eyes laughing. “It’s probably my dashing good looks.”

I laughed too, hitting him lightly on the arm. “Shut _up_ , James. I’ve found it hard to trust any man, any _one_ for a long time, and yet you... well, you’re something else, aren’t you, James Potter?”

James turned to look at me, and once again I found myself at mercy to those mesmerizing hazel eyes like sinking pools. His hand was lightly brushing my cheek, and he stared into my eyes, reading my soul.

Then suddenly, a car horn honked loudly, and broke us from our moment. We both broke away, equally reluctantly and hesitantly, as a car came racing past behind us.

James grabbed my hand unexpectedly. “Come on,” he said. “There’s just the perfect place I want to take you for breakfast.” His face suddenly broke into a wicked little grin. “And maybe we can bring Sirius and Lia along for a little entertainment.”

I laughed delightedly, and James began to lead me determinedly away. But I stopped him, placing a hand on his arm. He looked at me curiously.

“Thank you,” I said sincerely. “Thank you for listening. Thank you for everything.”

He smiled back at me.

“Only for you, Lily.”

~~~**~~*~~**~~~

**Whew.** **Sorry it wasn’** **t as** **long** **as usual** **, but it was good while it lasted... I hope.** **So that’s my reason for why Lily’s such a workaholic** **, and such.**

**Is** **it frustrating that their first kiss keeps getting interrupted? No?** **Doesn’t matter, i** **t won’t last long anyway, I’m too impatient.**

**Next chapter won’t be up for a while, I’m off on my long awaited holiday tomorrow! Back in a few weeks... give it a month or so.**

**Toodles!**


	5. A Touch Of Humanity

**Author’s Note:** Very sorry about the stupidly long length of time it took to get this out. I’ve given up making excuses, because you all deserve better, but here’s the longest chapter I’ve written so far... hope it’s worth the wait.

**Chapter Five**

**A Touch of Humanity**

We - that is to say, myself, James, Lia, and to Lia’s displeasure, Sirius – were having breakfast in the same café that we had met Madeleine at yesterday afternoon. It was nearly ten, yet James and I had been up for hours already without eating, so I deemed it necessary to call and wake up Lia to join us for breakfast.

Unfortunately, I had forgotten that whilst I was a morning person, she was not. My main mistake was the cheerfulness and sunshine in my voice that reminded Lia the world was still revolving and very much awake (something that she vehemently denies when she feels the opposite – generally in the mornings).

“Lily Evans,” she had hissed down the phone to me, in a voice so reminiscent of a certain Dark Lord that I almost dropped the phone and screamed. “If you ever call me at nine in the morning and wake me up again, I will hunt you down, hack off your arms and legs, rip out your tongue, and feed them to a Chimaera whilst you watch.”

Her tone then immediately changed to enthusiasm when I mentioned waffles.

When she (finally) arrived and saw Sirius smirking up at her, her expression wavered slightly before she gave him a simpering smile. She sat down – and promptly pinched the back of my upper arm so hard that I yelped, jumped back into James, who spilled his coffee all over the waiter.

James and I exchanged a silent look that agreed we would _never_ invite Lia to breakfast with us again. Or at least, not when paired with Sirius. And before eleven a.m.

Said friend of James’ was currently amusedly watching said friend of mine as she wolfed down her waffles like it was going out of style. James and I were also watching Lia eat; he with astonishment and me with distaste.

“I’ve never seen a woman eat like... _that_ , before,” James commented, his eyes concentrated on the waffle that disappeared wholly into Lia’s mouth. She sucked in a breath, and continued attacking her breakfast.

“Well, she did grow up with five men for role models,” I replied, shuddering as another waffle disappeared. “Poor girl. Blame them for her poor table mannerisms.”

We watched her finish off her waffles with a flourish, take a giant gulp of coffee, and lean back leisurely with a sigh. I felt compelled to make a comment.

“Want seconds, Lee?”

Lia, in her typical to-the-point behaviour, stuck her middle finger up at me.

“By the way, Maddie’s rescheduled for tomorrow morning instead of this afternoon,” she added. “Just heard from her before I left. Said it was okay, if it’s okay with you.”

I nodded, and Sirius looked at us curiously.

“Work thing,” Lia and I chorused.

James was still looking at her empty plate with amazement. “The only person,” he said. “That I have ever seen eat like that is _him_.” He jerked his thumb to his right, towards Sirius. Sirius ignored him, and was staring at Lia with a trace of amusement, tinged with interest, on his face.

“I swear,” he said, rather suddenly to James and me. “That was the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen in my life.”

...I didn’t quite know how to react to that, so I was left to opening and closing my mouth unattractively, rather like a goldfish. Beside me, James snorted and muttered something to him.

Sirius ignored him, still staring at Lia as she leant back in her chair, bathing in the sun’s warmth. She saw him looking, and scowled.

“What’re you looking at?”

He retorted immediately, and James pulled a face at me. “Very vain of him, isn’t it, to like in a woman what he loves most about himself.”

I giggled –

_Okay, this country is getting to my head. I have never_ giggled _before in my life._

and asked: “What, terrible table etiquette?”

“Nope,” James replied, a grin on his face. His attention was completely diverted to me now, which I found immensely flattering. After all, I did spend a lot of time in the company of Lia, who, despite all bad eating habits and whatnot, was still an extremely and unfairly beautiful woman. This meant that attention was usually on her, and not me, the plain-faced sidekick. So this was a very welcome change...

“-one thing,” James was saying, and I snapped back to attention. “That those two have in common is Sirius’ self-proclaimed talent... the ability to inhale their food.”

I burst out laughing, which put a stop to Lia and Sirius’ arguing as they both turned around to see what the disturbance was. I cracked up even more at the annoyed looks on their faces... narrowed eyes, wrinkled foreheads, a disapproving frown very unfitting to them... the sight was too comical. James, too, forewent cracking one of his ribs and joined me in hysterics.

“And what are _you_ laughing about?” Lia snapped, still asleep too much to be civil.

We simply continued to laugh hysterically, practically falling over and leaning on each other for support.

“Don’t mind them,” Sirius said, turning away. “They’ve been all couple-ish and touchy-feely ever since they got back from their little dawn date.”

_That_ shut us up.

“How did you know about that?” James demanded. Sirius smirked, picking up his coffee mug.

“We _do_ live on the same street, Jimmy-boy.”

“And that gives you the right to spy on me how?”

“Well, as the almost-brother, the best friend and the neighbour, I would assume that gives me enough right to invade your privacy. Constantly and frequently. You have no secrets from me, Jimmy.”

“You know what happens when you assume, right?”

I felt relief shoot through me when James retaliated to Sirius’ comment, for Lia’s attention was diverted from her about-to-be-teasing and she could not help but act upon her desire to humiliate Sirius.

“It makes an _ass_ out of you and me. Although,” she smirked. “He’s enough of one already.”

“Hey!” Sirius said, now turning his attention from James and back to Lia. “At least _I_ don’t _inhale_ my food.”

“No,” Lia agreed. “Just everything else.”

“Yeah, but you – ” They continued to bicker and fight, like they did the previous night, and James and I watched. It was amusing at first, but after the first five minutes, it was becoming rather tedious.

It was also around this point that James turned to me with a mischievous look on his face. One, even in my short time of knowing him, I had taken to mean one thing only: he had a plan. An idea, by the looks of it, that would involve us getting into a lot of trouble if we were caught.

“Let’s ditch them,” he said.

“We can’t!” I exclaimed, and then lowering my voice cautiously. “They look like they’re about to kill each other. Do you really want that to happen?”

“Rate they’re going, they’re going to end up killing each other anyway,” James replied easily. “Do you really want to stick around for World War Three?”

I glanced around, and jumped as Lia slammed her hand down on the table and sent the four cups on the table jumping an inch into the air. They landed with a loud _clink_ and a messy splash, but neither of them noticed.

“Still...” I said. “I think somebody’s got to stick around and be the referee, otherwise they’ll end up arrested – or worse, they’ll murder us if they catch us leaving them alone. Lia’s a dirty fighter, and I don’t fancy getting on her bad side.”

James laughed. “I don’t think it’ll go _quite_ that far,” he said. “But come on, Lily. I thought you were here to live a little? What’s life without a bit of risk?”

I looked at him – and I mean _really_ looked at him. Although he was grinning his usual lopsided smile, there was an empathetic look in his eyes. It was like... he truly understood me and what I went through, and he was determined to get me past it.

And then I realized that he was right.

What is life without a bit of risk?

“Okay,” I agreed. “Let’s go.”

 ~~~**~~**~~**~~~

 

“She’s going to be _m_ _ad_.” We had managed to sneak away – very easily, may I add.

He shrugged. “Just a bit of yelling. It’ll do you good. My professors did a lot of yelling at me when I was at school, and I turned out okay.”

I raised an eyebrow cheekily. “Well, that’s debatable...”

James’ mouth fell open in shock before he gathered himself together long enough to grin. “Good one. You’re a fast learner, Miss Evans.”

“I do try. So. Where are we going?” I asked him, as he took my elbow and guided me across a pedestrian crossing.

“You’ll see,” he replied mysteriously, and I rolled my eyes.

“You’re not going to sell me into white slavery, are you?” I asked him. A wicked grin cracked across his face.

“No, but now that you mention it... I _am_ a bit short on cash.”

I made to punch him in the arm. He ducked, laughter evident across his face. His eyes sparkled as I chased him down the street, oblivious to the funny looks other people were giving us.

I chased him across roads (oblivious to sharply braking cars and their pissed off drivers); we practically ran over a horde of old ladies (and quite possibly caused a few heart attacks) and leap-frogged over a homeless man sitting on the side of the street (who shook his fists at us angrily) before James abruptly stopped in the middle of the street – and I barrelled right into him.

“Whoa!” he said, catching me easily around the waist. “Careful.”

I laughed and tried to catch my breath. My face was flushed and probably matched my hair, I had sweat dripping down my nose, but I didn’t care. Actually, scratch that. It’s rather annoying having a bead of sweat on your nose. I wrinkled it, trying to make it drip down.

“What are you doing?” James’ voice came amusedly, and I was only then that I remembered where I was. Still in his embrace, with his arms wrapped around my waist.

I stopped laughing immediately and froze. Luckily, James realized too, and let go before I did something stupid.

_Like kiss him? You’ve been wanting to do that ever since you met him._

_You know there’s nothing wrong with wanting to snog the living daylights out of a good-looking man... even if you have only known him two days._

“So where are we?” I asked quickly to cover up the awkward moment (and to shut up the voices in my head). James jerked his head to his left, smiling widely. I turned to look, seeing a medium-sized building, with a small courtyard and a high wrought-iron gate. Like a townhouse you’d expect to see out of the nineteenth century.

I looked back at him curiously. He just grinned, his eyes twinkling, and gestured for me to go in. Gingerly I pushed the gate, which swung open noiselessly, and walked in, James following.

It was strange. Quiet, and empty. The courtyard was deserted. I looked at James questioningly.

“Where is everyone?”

As if my words were a cue, a delighted shriek came from inside the house and suddenly the front doors flew open.

I looked about wildly as around twenty children came pouring out of the doors, all yelling and screaming in excitement. Their little faces were laughing in the way that only a child’s can, and they all clambered around James immediately.

“Did you like my presents?” he asked them, smiling as he reached down and lifted the little girl clinging to his legs into his arms.

There was a loud chorus of ‘Yes’, and almost every single one of those children pulled out some type of toy from somewhere, all clambering to tell James about it. He laughed, pulled a Frisbee out of nowhere, gave it to the nearest child, and the whole lot of them ran off to play with it.

I smiled at him, but as he began to make his way over to me the little girl he was still holding tugged on his shirt. He frowned and leant forward to listen to her as she whispered in his ear. He laughed delightedly and put her down, watching her as she ran to join the others.

“What did she tell you?” I asked as he neared me.

“She told me to tell you that she thought you were very pretty,” he said, his eyes twinkling. “Like a princess.”

“Oh,” I said, and blushed. Before he could comment on my brightly coloured cheeks, I quickly asked him: “So. Are you going to explain, or am I going to have to guess?”

He put a hand on the small of my back and led me over to where the children were now complaining because someone had thrown the Frisbee into a tree. “An orphanage,” he explained. “I first came here four years ago to meet a friend of my parents’ – she’s the owner of this place. I couldn’t believe the way these children had been treated. They’ve seen things in their lives, experienced things in their lives that nobody that age should ever have to experience. So it became a bit of a weekly thing to come here and spend some time with them, occasionally bring some gifts.”

We had reached the children, and James reached up easily into the branches to collect the Frisbee. The little girl that James had been holding before was staring at me, and I smiled as I bent down to talk to her.

“What’s your name?” I asked gently.

“Isabelle,” she replied very softly with wide eyes.

“Isabelle,” I repeated, and smiled. “That’s a very pretty name. My name’s Lily.”

She was silent, and only stared at me further. I smiled again, and prompted her to talk. “Thank you for your lovely comment about me. That was very nice.”

She paused, and then spoke again, in a tone barely above a whisper. “You do look like a princess,” she said, and pointed to the hairband in my hair. “You even have a crown.”

I bit my lip, and looked around me to make sure that no one was watching. James was occupied with the other children and the Frisbee for the time being, so I quickly pulled out my wand and pulled my hairband off. Isabelle watched me with carefully.

“Can you keep a secret?” I whispered to her. She nodded and watched with her huge wide eyes, whilst I tapped my hairband with my wand. Instantly it transfigured into a beautiful tiara, the kind you’d expect from a fairytale, fit for a child. I tucked my wand away quickly, and smiled at Isabelle.

“There,” I said, placing the transfigured hairband on her head. “Now you can be a princess too.”

She smiled at me – and I mean really smiled. It was toothy, and wide, and slightly awkward (like she wasn’t used to it), but it was gleaming with all the innocence and happiness that only a child could pull off. I smiled back at her, and gently pushed her off to play with the others.

As soon as she left, James came back over. He was panting heavily as he did so, but he found enough breath to ask me: “Where’d you get the tiara from?”

I raised my eyebrows at him. “What, you can produce Frisbees out of nowhere and I can’t do the same with tiaras?”

He grinned, doubling over to catch his breath. “You’re getting old, James,” I teased. “Can’t even play Frisbee with a bunch of kids for a few minutes without losing your breath.”

He looked up at me, still bent over, and a wicked smile crossed his face.

I instantly cringed.

“No...” I said, backing away. “Stop whatever you’re thinking right now, James Potter.”

“Kids!” he bellowed, and they immediately stopped in the middle of their Frisbee game to look over. “Don’t you think we should welcome Lily here properly?”

I cringed as a huge chorus of cheers rose up and the children all ran towards the back of the house.

“Where are they going?” I asked James, fearful but curious.

He stood up straight and smirked. “To get the hose, of course. We’re going to welcome you to the clan officially.”

“By drenching me in water?” I asked incredulously, unconsciously backing away towards the house.

“Naturally. Nothing says welcome to the family better than a nice water fight.”

Just then, I caught sight of seven or eight water guns and a hose emerging around the corner of the building, in the hands of a dozen or so grinning children.

“James.”

“Yes, Lily?”

“I’m going to kill you.”

 ~~~**~~**~~**~~~

 

Madame Boulogne, who was the owner of the orphanage – and the friend of James’ parents – ushered us into the parlour and called one of the matrons, bustling out of the room.

She had come outside to find the source of all the noise, took one look at the wet children, James and I, and tutted. Then she had promptly shooed the children inside to change their clothes, and brought James and I into the parlour. The matron returned with a pile of towels and a tray of tea.

“Thanks,” I said gratefully, and reached for a cup of tea. I shivered slightly before I lifted the cup to my lips, and James frowned at me.

“Look at you,” he said, taking one of the towels and wrapping it snugly around my shoulders. “You’re soaked and shivering. You’ll catch a cold like that.”

I smiled secretly to myself as he wrapped an arm around me, rubbing my upper arms slightly to warm me up. I took a sip of tea, quietly enjoying the comfort and warmth that spread through me. In fact, I was so out of it that I had unconsciously rested my head against James’ shoulder and started to drift off. Slowly... peacefully...

“So!” Madame Boulogne came back in, rather noisily, and immediately James and I jumped about a foot apart. “You two warmed up yet?

We both nodded and thanked her.

“The orphanage is lovely,” I said politely. “And the children are all so sweet.”

“Isabelle adores her,” James added.

Madame Boulogne smiled happily. “Good. It’s about time that poor child had some stability in her life.”

Then the smile abruptly turned into a frown – she reached over and gave James a sharp slap upside the head.

“Ow!” James protested, rubbing his head. “What was that for?”

“James Potter,” she said, narrowing her eyes and glaring at him. “How many times have I told you that you are too old to be having water fights?”

He rolled his eyes. “About six million.”

“And how many Euros have you wasted of mine in water bills on these silly water fights?”

He grinned. “About six million.”

“And as if you haven’t corrupted my children enough already, you go and take a perfectly lovely young lady like – what was your name again, dear?” she suddenly shot her attention to me.

“Um. Lily.”

“-like Lily, here, and corrupt her too! What is the matter with you?”

James smiled innocently. “Just trying to have some fun, Jeanne. You know, keep the mind young and all that.”

Madame Boulogne scowled. “You’re plenty young enough, James, in mind and spirit. When will you ever grow up?”

“When the sky turns green and Sirius settles down.”

Madame Boulogne sighed heavily. “Good Lord, I’ll be too ashamed to look your parents in the eye after I die.”

I frowned slightly. “James, your parents-”

His expression suddenly clammed up and darkened. “Both dead. Four and a half years next week.”

I felt my heart go out to him. So _that_ explained his deep involvement in the orphanage... he was one of them.

“I’m so sorry, James,” I said, my face softening. I clasped his hand in both of mine, trying to comfort him as best as I could. He smiled at me, albeit in a slightly cold and closed way, but he squeezed my hands in gratitude nonetheless.

Madam Boulogne sighed again in the background. “I swear, James, all your parents wanted was for you to meet the right young lady, settle down, and be happy. Why can’t you just listen to them for once in your life?”

James’ eyes twinkled, the life back in him. “Oh, I don’t know, Jeanne. I may be closer to it than you think.”

 ~~~**~~**~~**~~~

 

I stumbled back into our apartment two hours later, still damp but with a grin on my face. Lia, who had been sitting Indian-style on the couch and reading a magazine, looked over to me.

She raised an eyebrow. “No offence, Lil, but damp only suits swamps.”

I sighed and walked over to slump on the couch beside her. She whirled around and stared at me. “No comeback?”

I shook my head.

Her eyes widened and she whipped her wand out to point it at me. “Who are you, and what have you done with my best friend?”

I rolled my eyes, and batted her wand away from me. “You can talk. You haven’t even tried to remove my internal organs yet for leaving you alone with Sirius at breakfast. Plus you’re reading-” I checked the title of the magazine that was dangling from her left hand. “ _Arithmancy Annual_? Since when have you _ever_ read anything that wasn’t _Witch Weekly_?”

“I’m trying to prove a point, okay?”

“To who?”

She rolled her eyes. “Who else?”

“Sirius? But he’s not even here.”

Lia waved her hand – the one with the wand – vaguely in the air. “That’s beside the point. Anyway, we were talking about _you_ and why you’ve turned into Lily-the-lovestruck-teenager.”

“Let’s talk about me later; we have all night. But for once, I’m actually, genuinely interested in your love life. So. Spill.”

She narrowed her eyes at me. “That is completely incorrect for three reasons. One: my love life is _always_ interesting. Two: I fail to see what relevance it has to said love life. And three: there’s nothing to tell, in any case.”

I rolled my own eyes. “Come on, Lee. I’m your best friend... if you’re not going to tell me, who are you going to tell? I know something happened.”

“Well, if you count me confirming my suspicions that Sirius is a complete and utter perverted _dick_ as ‘something happening’, then yes, I suppose something did happen.” She leant back on the couch and went back to her magazine. A second later –

“Why am I still reading this?” she cried out, flinging it aside and _Accio_ -ing herself a copy of _Witch Weekly_ instead, with Celestina Warbeck flicking her hair at me from the front cover.

“Looks like somebody had a bad afternoon,” I commented, leaning back leisurely. “You know, we can do this the easy way or the hard way, although I’d really not have to repair the furniture again. Sooner’s so much easier and more convenient than later.”

She glared at for a second longer, and then, predictably, the story began spilling from her lips.

“...and then, after we realized that you two had left us, he has the _fucking_ nerve to turn to me with that _stupid_ , fucking smirk of his-”

“I happen to find Sirius’ smirk very endearing.”

She glared at me. “Just whose side are you on, anyway?”

“Yours, of course. But I happen to like Sirius’ smirk.”

Lia threw Celestina Warbeck’s hair-flicking, smiling face at me. “Fuck you, Evans. Anyway, he turns to me and has the _fucking_ nerve to say: ‘So. My place or yours?’”

“I’m afraid to ask what you did to him.”

“No kidding. Anyway, that’s not all. When I asked him what the hell he meant, he says: ‘Why. For all the shagging we’re about to spent the afternoon doing, of course.’ I swear to God, if we weren’t in a public place and he wasn’t a Muggle, I would have castrated him on the spot.”

I winced. “So. You kept your temper. Then what happened?”

She frowned. “Who said I kept my temper?”

My eyes widened. “Oh, sweet Merlin. You killed him, didn’t you?”

She smirked. “Not quite. But he did get a firsthand taste of my right hook.”

I winced again. “What did you break?”

“His nose. And maybe his left cheekbone too, if my aim is still as good as it was last assessment course. And _then_ I told him to go fuck someone that didn’t have enough brain cells to figure what an arrogant git he was.”

I shook my head. “Lee... seriously. You should take those anger management courses the department’s been begging you to take.”

She simply stuck her middle finger up at me again.

“So how did it go with loverboy?” she asked, as soon as she had calmed down (Celestina Warbeck was now scowling at us for not paying attention to her magazine cover).

My mind briefly flickered back to when I left James downstairs after he walked me home. We had laughed and joked. He had told me stories of his escapades with the children. I had told him about my practical jokes on Petunia as a child. And then...

I had, on impulse, kissed him.

It was quick, brief, and no more than a touch of my lips against his... but it was a kiss nonetheless. Gentle. Soft. Sweet. And I had left him in a daze on the front step, something that filled me with a new-found confidence. I felt empowered by that one action, by the fact that I could render a self-assured man speechless with something that could even be classified as a lip-graze.

And of course, neither of us failed to notice the spark that had jumped between our lips when it had happened.  



	6. A Contradictory Day

**Author’s Note:** I’m so sorry that I’ve been taking my time with this... but I really want it to be perfect. Anyway, first things first: I have gone through the existing chapters and made little tweaks to them. Nothing major or important, except perhaps their ages to explain why they don't recognise each other. That's pretty much it.

Then there's this chapter, which is shorter than I would have liked and now that I've read it through has a very different tone to the others. Next time I'll try to lessen that. 

**Chapter 6**

**A** **Contradictory Day**

My eyes flew upon dead on nine o’clock, and I immediately turned to the phone. Predictably, it rang and I hurried to answer it, for fear of waking the beast (also known as Lia)...

...and possibly because I was eager to hear James’ voice again. There, I admitted it. Happy now?

“ _Bonne_ _matiné_ _e_ ,” his voice came, and as ever, sending a shiver up my spine when I heard it. “Good morning, Lilypad. Sleep well?”

I leant back against my pillows, a smile crossing my face. I was feeling flirtatious, which does not happen often. “Extremely. I had an... interesting dream. It involved a somebody that shall not be named and lots of water.”

His laugh, deep and melodic, rang through the phone. “I have a vague bit of hope that the somebody that shall not be named is me.”

“Sorry... promised Dream Man that I wouldn’t reveal his identity. It’d ruin the illusion...”

He laughed again, and I felt a surge of pleasure. I could practically _feel_ my confidence growing with every moment I spent in Paris – or, more specifically, with James.

“Your subconscious mind and your dreams concern me, Miss Evans,” he was saying in a faux professor voice. “Fancy meeting up so we can discuss its complexity in further detail?”

“Mr Potter,” I replied, my lips twitching with amusement. “Are you asking me out?”

“Well, if that’s what you kids are calling it these days... then yes, I am. Meet you outside your building in half an hour?”

“That sounds like enough time for me to put my face on...”

 

~~~**~~*~~**~~~

 

I was already waiting on the steps of my building five minutes earlier than planned, bouncing up and down in excitement. I was dressed simply – denim shorts and an old favourite ratty T-shirt. And I was going sans make-up, too weary of what may happen today (after yesterday, and the water fight? The panda eyes look never suits anyone).

What was going to happen today? Paintballing? Rollerblading down the Champs-Ð€lyseès? Gatecrashing some fancy party in a hotel? I was positively giddy with anticipation and impatience.

James arrived not long after, bringing a smile and a long-stemmed yellow flower.

“Calla Lily,” he said by way of explanation, holding it out to me. “Yellow, for friendship. And the flower meaning... magnificent beauty.”

I took it from him and breathed in the scent deeply. “It’s beautiful,” I said happily, looking up at him. He was staring back at me with undisguised fascination.

“It pales in comparison to its owner,” he said softly, and naturally, I felt my cheeks heat up. I lifted a hand to my face to feel the heat radiating off it, but James caught my hand before it touched my face. I looked up at him, feeling an elated sort of terror as he gazed into my eyes.

“You kissed me last night,” he said simply. I nodded, finding my throat stuck and unable to form any type of sound. “ _You_ kissed _me_ ,” he echoed.

And then suddenly he had tugged on my hand that was grasped in his own, and he had pulled me flush against his body. I coloured, feeling the intimacy of our position and _extremely_ aware of the fact that he was lowering his head and was about to –

Last night the kiss I had given him had been so quick, so brief, that I wasn’t even sure that he’d felt it. But this... his lips were soft and sweet, gently parting my lips and kissing me in such a way that led to me letting out a little squeak in surprise. It felt like he was sprinkling a thousand drops of sun all over me, as he lightly flicked his tongue over my bottom lip.

Unfortunately, just when it occurred to me to kiss him back, he pulled away, sucking in a deep breath. I choked slightly and only just remembered then to take a quick breath of my own. His eyes never left me, and made me look back at him. I just couldn’t pull my eyes away from him.

“I should have kissed you first,” he said, his eyes sparkling. “I’ve wanted to do it ever since I met you. But you just had to beat me to it... and a kiss that quick, last night? You know exactly how to leave a man wanting more, don’t you?”

“Well,” I said, finally regaining my voice. “The art of seduction is a tricky thing to master.”

He traced a finger down the side of my face, making me tingle all over. “You, Lily Evans, are definitely something else,” he murmured. I hardly dared to look back into the hazel eyes that were probing me.

Then a loud honking noise from a passing car spoiled our moment. He pulled away from me, albeit reluctantly, and began to frog-march me away.

“Come on. I’m taking you to breakfast.” He began leading me down the street, still gripping my upper arms. “Then to my place; I have to pick up something, and then... we’ll see.”

“I can see that devious little mind of yours planning something, Potter,” I accused, half laughing, half curious. “Are you taking me back to your apartment to have your wicked way with me?”

He suddenly stopped and whipped around to face me, giving me a wicked little grin. “Why? Are you offering?”

He almost learnt how to fly without help after that comment.

 

~~~**~~*~~**~~~   


 

That was certainly the most eventful breakfast I’ve ever had, including even Lia’s display of her superhuman ability to inhale food yesterday, and Sirius’ constant innuendos as she did so. 

For starters, James purposefully spoke to the waiter in _Finnish_ (because, he claimed, he was testing the manners of the French tourist economy). Then he shovelled half a dozen slices of toast down his throat in one go (much to the distaste of... well, everyone present). And to top it all off, he successfully confused the waiter so much that he began to speak to every other patron in a deliberate, slow tone, mimicking the one that he had been forced to use with James assuming he didn’t know English.

See, eventful.

Now he was pulling me up some steps to his building, in search of the something that he needed to pick up. It was a very nice neighbourhood, I noted, looking up and down the street, something that I verbalised. Lots of character, and very... James.

“One of the friendliest too,” he added, getting the door open (finally).

“Which building does Sirius live in?” I asked, glancing behind me before he shut the door. James rolled his eyes.

“This one, top floor. Too close for comfort, but then again I haven’t lived more than a hundred feet away from him in twenty years.”

“Should I be worried?” I teased, before it finally occurred to me to look around. I was surrounded by warm, fresh colours, nothing like the bare Spartan walls in the building that Lia and I were staying in. It seemed very homely, with the stairs in one corner of the foyer, leading presumably upstairs to the other floors. Everything seemed to be in close proximity, and again, very James. “You own this house, don’t you?”

He nodded. “I only use the bottom floor, and I’m not exactly around much even then. My friend, Remus, lives on the middle floor, and my other friend, Peter, stays in the converted attic when he comes to visit.”

I was barely listening as I turned around in awe, staring at all the amazing paintings on the walls. “You guys must be really close to be able to stand living so close together...” James led me further into his house, and guided me into his study.

“Make yourself at home... I’ll only be a while,” he waved, and disappeared through another door.

“Jesus, James... this place is like a maze. How do you not get lost?” I heard him chuckle from wherever he was. I stood up and began to look around the room. Bookshelves full of classics and modern stories alike; shelves full of trophies; I looked towards the nearest cabinet and found several dozen frames covering every available inch.

I smiled at the first one I saw, one of James and Sirius at some party, their arms slung around each other’s necks and laughing. Then there were ones of him and who were presumably the other two friends that he had mentioned, a pair of elderly people that I assumed were his parents, some pictures of large groups of people, some of just him in various locations around the world...

Wait a minute.

My gaze flickered back to one of the photos of the large groups of people, which I could have sworn was moving. I picked it up and took a closer look.

There was James, to the left of the picture, and Sirius with his familiar smirk, along with two other people that I assumed were Remus and Peter, due their frequent appearance in the other pictures. Then there was a large group of people in the middle, which I glazed over unconcernedly – and, with a jolt, I found Gideon and Fabian Prewett on the right hand side of the picture. Everyone looked so close and very friendly.

I brushed my fingers over the cool, smooth glass, frowning, when I noticed an odd bump in the middle of the picture. I turned the frame over and saw the tiniest corner of a piece of paper sticking out of the back. Quickly I unclasped the back of the frame and found a yellowing sheet of parchment - not paper, _parchment_ \- sitting behind the photo.

I unfolded it, and found a letter written in narrow, loopy handwriting. I never got a chance to debate about whether I wanted to read it or not, because there was James’ voice again, approaching the study.

I clasped the back of the frame again and stuck in back on the shelf. I was just in the process of shoving the letter in my pocket when his voice was suddenly right behind me.

“-all I need now is to post it-” he noticed my frantic expression. “Lily, are you okay?”

“Um... just a bit cold, that’s all. After all, you’ve got the air conditioning going full blast and I’m not exactly wearing much, am I?”

He cracked a wicked grin as his eyes scanned me up and down. Instead of shying away and blushing, however, I had never felt more attractive in my life than at that moment, and I drew myself up a little straighter, soaking in the attention.

“No, you’re not,” he agreed. “Let’s get out of here, then, and I’ll take you somewhere... different. You’ll love it, I promise.”

He stepped ever so slightly closer to me, and suddenly my senses were on high alert as he reached out to touch my cheek gently.

He was doing that probing thing with his eyes again.

Just as he was about to reach down and kiss me, I stepped back and grinned wickedly, the letter stuffed unceremoniously into my back pocket forgotten.

“Uh-uh, Mr Potter. Didn’t your mother ever teach you to look and not touch?”

 

~~~**~~*~~**~~~   


 

We spent the afternoon walking up (and then back down) the River Seine, chatting about anything and everything we could think of. During the summer, the Parisian authorities had turned part of the banks of the Seine into a pseudo-beach, and everywhere there were people frolicking, making sandcastles, or sunbathing. 

The two of us were simply strolling along the river side by side, and discussing James’ apparently new favourite topic – me. Despite my protests about feeling self-centred and talking about myself so much, he was only too happy to spend the afternoon talking about me to me.

I had just finished telling him about the time I snuck a parrot into my primary school (don’t ask where I got the parrot from) and stuck it in the vents, where it probably remained to this day (there was now a rumour that the school was haunted). Then by complete and utter accident, his fingers grazed mine. I was sure that he had felt the same electric sparks that I did, and slowly, surely, he entwined his fingers with mine.

I couldn’t stop the stupid, dopey grin that crossed my face when he did that.

Then, when he went to buy some ice cream, his hand only untwined with mine at the last possible moment, his eyes never leaving me. I laughed and shook him off, hurrying him along. Just after he left, I caught sight of an old couple struggling to fold up their deckchairs, so I hurried over to help.

“Thank you, dear,” the old man said. “I’m starting to feel as old as I look.”

I laughed as I successfully folded up the first one and reached for the second. “My mother always said that it’s your mind and your spirit that keeps you young, not the way you look.”

The old woman’s eyes sparkled as I finished up, and helped them to stand the chairs up. “Your mother is a smart woman. Was that your husband that I saw with you just then?” she gestured in the direction that James had gone.

I shook my head. “God, no. I’ve only just met him.”

“Really? The two of you seem like newlyweds. Reminds me of the two of us at your age.”

“I can tell he’s a good one,” the old man put in.

I was just about to reply when James reappeared at my elbow, holding out an ice cream cone. “One ice crea-“ the scoop of ice cream had just tumbled off the cone. “Oh, fu-fiddlesticks,” he quickly corrected himself when he saw that I had company.

“Clumsy,” I teased him, reaching for his ice cream instead. “You’ll have to share yours now.”

“Willingly. I am your slave, oh great one.” He held out the cone to me and I gave it an experimental lick, feeling his eyes watching me appreciatively.

The old couple winked at me as they prepared to depart. “Thanks for your help, my dear,” the old woman called. “And, young man?” James looked over to her smilingly. “This one is something special.”

He suddenly wrapped his arm around my waist and drew me close to him. “I know.”

After they left, he released me and looked questioningly at me. “What was that all about?” he wanted to know.

“Oh.” I laughed. “They thought we were newlyweds.”

I realised that was the wrong thing to say, because he got that look in his eye again. “Really,” he commented, eyes twinkling.

I mentally kicked myself for giving him ideas, because for the rest of the day he paraded us around as a married couple...

 

~~~**~~*~~**~~~ 

 

“I have to go!” I protested laughingly, but in vain, as James refused to loosen his grip around me. “Lia’ll be waiting for me, we’re supposed to be having dinner with her dad and brother later. They’re only here for a little while before they go away again...” 

James pouted, but reluctantly let me go. “I’ll call you tomorrow,” he promised. I nodded, and gave him one last quick kiss before I turned away from him and bounded into my building.

I was still on a high, my eyes sparkling as I let myself into the apartment. I twirled around and landed with a light thump on the couch, exhaling elatedly.

A cough sounded from behind me, and I turned around to see Lia approaching. “Hey, Lee! You won’t _believe_ the day that I...” I trailed off when I saw the expression on her face. She was dressed up nicely in a swirling dress already, but the murderous look in her eyes threw her whole look out of focus.

“I have two words for you,” she said through gritted teeth. “Madeleine. Meeting.”

With a nasty jolt, I suddenly recalled her words from breakfast yesterday. “ _’_ _By the way, Maddie’s rescheduled for tomorrow morning...’_ ”

I was spared from explaining myself, because next second, she had blown up at me.

“WHERE THE HELL WERE YOU ALL DAY? MADDIE AND I WAITED FOR AN HOUR FOR YOU TO SHOW UP! YOU KNOW HOW IMPORTANT THESE MEETINGS ARE!”

I tried to cut in, but she was still on full steam.

“-HAD TO SEE HER ALL ON MY OWN... _NOT_ EVEN MY ASSIGNMENT... YOU KNOW I HAVE NO IDEA ABOUT ANY OF THE DETAILS... _DIDN’T_ KNOW WHAT TO TELL THE AMBASSADOR...”

“The ambassador?” I choked out. “The ambassador was there?”

“YES, HE FUCKING WAS! DO YOU KNOW HOW LONG IT TOOK FOR US TO EVEN GET HIM TO MEET WITH US? HOW THE FUCK DO YOU EXPECT HIM OR ANY OF THE BLOODY FRENCH MINISTRY TO TAKE US SERIOUSLY IF OUR DELEGATE CAN’T EVEN BE BOTHERED TO SHOW UP?”

“Why didn’t you call-“

“I DID! SIXTEEN TIMES! AND YOU LEFT YOUR FUCKING PHONE ON YOUR FUCKING NIGHTSTAND!”

The look in her eyes was now beyond murder; I was sure she was now thinking up a million ways to torture me. Her voice, however, now lowered in decibels as she struggled to stay calm.

“I know that I’ve been telling you to relax for years now,” she said, in her forced calm voice. “And I know that it was my idea for you to meet someone knew. But never, in a million years, did I ever think that you’d do it at the expense of your job.”

Again, I tried to protest, but she cut me off. “ _No_ , Lily. You _are_ doing it at the expense of your job. When I said relax, go out, have fun, I meant that when you didn’t have to work. You _know_ just how important this trip is.” She saw the look on my face and her forced calm wavered. “Don’t you _dare_ call me a hypocrite, Lily Evans. I know how to balance my work and my personal life. I don’t go out to clubs and parties the night before a raid. I don’t drink if I have a briefing the day after. I don’t skip meetings for dates.” She glared at me when she said this. “Likewise, I don’t think about work on my days off.”

She took in a deep breath and counted to ten slowly, which I knew this was her way of calming herself down. Seriously, the anger management thing that the department insisted on was no joke.

“I’m not telling you to stop seeing him,” she said. “By all means, I know he makes you happy, so keep seeing him. But not when you’re supposed to be working. Not when we have something as important as this in our hands. And... remember, no matter how much you like him, he’s still a Muggle.”

Her words suddenly reminded me of something. “Actually,” I said slowly, pulling the crumpled letter out of my back pocket. “I’m not so sure about that.”

Her expression changed immediately, and she moved closer to me. “What happened?”

“James took me to his house today,” I explained slowly, trying to recreate it in my head. “He needed to pick something up. He took me into his study and left me there when he went to get whatever he was getting.

“I started poking around – you know what I’m like – and I was looking at some photographs that he had. There were so many of them, of him and his friends...” Here I smiled at the memory. “He’s really close to all his friends, Lee, it’s so amazing to see four guys so close they’re like brothers.”

“That’s sweet,” she said, sitting down next to me and clasping my hand in both of hers. “You found something, didn’t you?”

“A picture,” I said, nodding. “Of him and his friends, part of a huge group of people. A group that included the Prewetts. A picture that I could swear was moving.”

Lia’s face went through a variety of expressions at that moment. “That’s certainly... suspicious.”

“I know. I mean, I know the Prewetts are ‘Muggle-lovers’, but let’s face it – how many Muggles do they know? And I know that it could just be my imagination, but that picture _moved_ , and that’s why it caught my eye.”

We were both silent for a moment, and then I held out the letter. “I found this behind the photo, in the frame. I haven’t read it yet.”

Lia looked questioningly at it, and then at me. “Why don’t you?”

“I’m afraid what I’ll find out,” I admitted. “Right now, he’s this sweet and wonderful man that’s perfect for me, and I don’t think I want to know what his secrets are. I don’t want to ruin it. So, please, take it from me?”

“Why?”

“Because I don’t know what I should do with it.”

She took it gingerly from my hand and looked at me. “I won’t read this unless I absolutely have to,” she promised. “Until you think that there is a reason we should suspect him, I won’t dig deeper, even though we can definitely agree... he’s not who he says he is.”

I snorted.

“What?”

“That’s the problem exactly. He doesn’t say who he is. He doesn’t talk about himself at all, beyond his friends. Lee... he knows me so well, but I hardly know him at all.”

She was silent for a moment and then questioned me again. “Lily? Who are you afraid that he is?”

I gave her the look. “Who do you think?”

“James Potter the Auror? The one I’m looking for?” I nodded. “Why is that a problem?”

“Because... I don’t know why it’s a problem. There’s obviously a reason that he left, and I’m afraid of what that reason is.”

She was quiet, and then said: “I think he cast a Nascondalo Spell. The Hide-Me Spell that I was telling you about.”

I shifted uncomfortably. “How does it work?”

“It’s like the Fidelius Charm, just as complex but more specific,” she explained. “It erases the caster from the subject’s mind... they’ll forget what you look like, forget it’s you. But it just hides your face, not your name – someone can hear your name and instantly remember you, but they would have no way of placing your face, no way of knowing that it was you. The memory of the caster will always be present in the subject’s mind but they could never recognise you even if they passed you in the street.”

“So it’s like... hiding in plain sight?”

“Precisely. It explains why all descriptions of him, all pictures, all his newspaper articles just sort of... vanished. The spell takes care all of that. No one will remember him unless he tells them himself. He’s sort of like his own Secret Keeper.”

“His Ministry records,” I said suddenly. “They weren’t affected because of the anti-jinxes and anti-spells that protect them. But... why don’t we just cast it on Voldemort and protect ourselves?”

“It’s a very specific spell, which is still the biggest flaw in my opinion, considering the number of people he would have had to cast it on – you have to cast it individually, one-on-one with the subject, and it takes a long time. Let’s face it, no one can last that long in front of Voldemort without getting killed. Plus not a lot of people know about it – a Dark Lord in the fourteenth century used it to hide and shield himself from his enemies and nearly wiped out the wizarding world with it, so a Curse Breaker adapted it to make it resilient to Dark Magic, and it was banned.”

“Then how do _you_ know about it?”

“Duh.” Lia rolled her eyes, and suddenly everything fell back into place again. She was her normal blunt and forward self, whilst I was the sarcastic one. “What does Aidan do for a living?” She was referring to her third brother, who researched the existence of forgotten spells and charms for a living.

“Speaking of my brothers, you should go get dressed,” Lia said, glancing at the delicate gold watch on her wrist. “We’re supposed to be meeting Daniel and my dad in forty minutes.”

“Eh,” I waved my hand, leaning back on the couch and closed my eyes. “Plenty of time.”

I was aware of her blue eyes scrutinising me as I sat there.

“What?”

“You seem different,” she said slowly. “I don’t know how, because compared to yesterday you seem the same, but compared to last week and Miss Workaholic... you used to be so concerned about time-keeping, and now... you’re just a little more... relaxed.”

I smiled to myself, but kept my eyes shut.

“So,” she said brightly, clapping her hands together. “Did he kiss you back yet?”

Oh, if only she knew.


	7. A Charismatic Quartet

**Author’s Note:** Finally, the appearance of the remaining Marauders. Been looking forward to this for a while! This chapter is a huge turning point, and I think it’s probably the longest one so far.  Unfortunately, I can't guarantee the speed of the next chapter. I'll try my best, but schoolwork is dominating again...

The title of this chapter comes from _Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire_ , for those of you that recognise it and are wondering why (disclaiming it here – just in case I get sued for copyright or something). I was watching it at the time of planning this chapter and it fitted so well I couldn’t bear to let it go.

**Chapter 7**

**A Charismatic Quartet**

The first thing I noticed when I rolled over and woke up was the single flower lying on my nightstand. I yawned, stretched, and then picked it up along with its attached note, with a smile. There were four words scrawled on the sheet in unfamiliar, sprawling handwriting:

_An orchid, for perfection._

_Then_ it hit me.

I instantly bolted upright, breathing heavily as a thousand thoughts raced through my head at the same moment.

To get this flower onto my nightstand James would have to get into my room.

To get into my room James would have to get into the apartment.

Which means... James had been in my room. While I was _asleep_!

I grabbed my robe and all but bolted into the living room, flower still in hand. My breath caught and I slid to a halt when I saw a dark-haired Adonis leaning over the coffee table, seemingly arranging something. He looked up at that moment and smiled widely at me, sending my heart skidding and my stomach flipping over.

“Morning, Sleeping Beauty,” he said teasingly. “Did you like your flower?”

I nodded dazedly.

He was _here_.

Which brings us onto question two:

_Why_ was he here, exactly?

“I made you breakfast,” he added, his words so perfect for the question in my mind that I swear he was reading it. I stared at him incredulously, dimly aware of how gormless I must look. He chuckled lowly and grabbed my hand. “Come on. Sit.”

He guided me onto one of the large sofa cushions that he had set up on the floor next to the coffee table, and I stared blankly at the mix in front of me. The table was neatly laid over with a tablecloth, with two plates of food ready and smelling extremely appetizing. There were two cups set up, with a jug of milk, sugar and a teapot. A small, empty vase sat in the centre, which James promptly filled by simply plucking the orchid out from between my fingers and dropping it in. He then sat down across from me at his own cushion and watched me patiently.

“Uhh...” I was trying to get my head around everything (a process that would have been quicker had I been properly awake, full of caffeine and without a bloke sitting across the table from me, dazzling me that irritatingly appealing smile). “Breakfast.”

James’ smile grew. “Yes.”

I fixed him with an accusing stare (coherency, check). “Made or bought?”

“Made, naturally. I wouldn’t dream of buying you a full English breakfast from any of these French people. They do good French food, naturally, but English breakfast...” he shuddered.

“What time...?”

“Nine twenty-two.”

“How long have you been here?” Full sentences, check.

“Since about half past seven.”

“You were in my room, weren’t you? Probably watched me sleep too, you pervert.” His grin, if possible, got wider (insults, check).

“I don’t feel comfortable answering that question, Miss Evans.”

And now for the million-Galleon question (sarcasm, check. I am awake!)... “Who let you in? Or did you pick the lock?”

James raised an eyebrow at me, as if showing disbelief that I believed he had the audacity to do such a thing. “Lia did, on her way out.”

I started slightly, before glaring at him slightly. “Okay, now I _know_ that is a lie. You know full well that Lia – my best friend Lia, Lia Reeser – does not wake up by herself before midday and without a string of profanities that should never be heard by children. So how could she possibly be going out, let alone awake? And at seven thirty?”

James shrugged. “She left you a note,” he replied, holding a folded slip of paper (good, she hadn’t slipped up and used parchment) out to me. He held his hands up in the air when I took it from him. “I swear, I haven’t read it.”

_Lily_ , the note read in Lia’s near-illegible script,

_G_ _one to catch Dad_ _and Daniel before they_ _leave_ _for Vienna_ _, have a plan._ _Have fun with your man-candy_ _/willing slave_ _, looks like_ _he’_ _s making you breakfast._ _You should t_ _hank him_ _with_ un français _kiss._ _Well, w_ _hen in Rome -_ _o_ _r should it_ _be_ _, more appropriately_ _, when in_ _Paris?_

_Lia_

_P.S. Don’t look at me like that. You know you want to._

I rolled my eyes when I reached the end of the note, and slipped it under my plate, smiling at James.

“Lia has a plan,” I said simply, picking up my fork. “And Lia with a plan is like... Hiroshima with the atomic bomb.” He simply grinned back at me and shook out his napkin dramatically.

“Let’s hope it has better results than her little run-in with Sirius the other day. Shall we eat?”

I eagerly dug in to the tantalizing dish in front of me, and my eyes flew open at the first bite.

Forty minutes later, I had an epiphany.

I never thought, in my life, that I would ever find a decent guy. Not with my luck, anyway.

But then I came to Paris. I met this man. This wonderfully sweet and funny and handsome man, who was everything that I’d ever wanted and more.

He was a benefactor to an orphanage.

He got on with his parents (when they were alive, anyway) and had great friends.

He seemed to like me for me, and even better, seemed to worship the ground that I walked on. He was even genuinely interested in my answers when he asked me a question, and his eyes didn’t even stray to my chest when he was talking to me.

Despite his mysterious background, and his obvious secrets, and the fact that I knew disturbingly little about him, I felt about James Potter in a way that I’d never felt about any other man before.

But this morning, he well and truly bowled me over with his perfection and the most important discovery of all:

He can _cook_. And _well_.

I was never letting him out of my sight again.

“That,” I said breathlessly, finishing off my last piece of bacon. “Was the best breakfast that I’ve ever had.” And I lived at Hogwarts for seven years, I added silently.

He grinned at me. “Why, thank you,” he said, bowing his head modestly. “But I can’t take all the credit. I had a great teacher.”

I bit my lip, not knowing if I should cross this line. I knew, from his reaction yesterday, that we would cross a dangerous boundary if I did. But I took my chances anyway. “Your mum?”

He became silent. Suddenly, gone was the playful, laughing mood that surrounded us – the room was filled with an uncomfortable, awkward tension, and I knew what was the cause of it. Like I had learned from the orphanage, James didn’t like talking about his parents, or his past, for that matter. In fact, I had a strong suspicion that he physically hated his past and would like nothing better than to forget it.

“Yes,” he said finally, as if with some difficulty. I smiled at the fact that he had finally shared with me, and as he met my eyes, he smiled too, albeit weakly. The tension in the room somewhat lessened. “Yes, she did. She was a great cook. She didn’t have to, because we had a – a maid, but she loved to do it anyway.”

“She sounds wonderful,” I said, tentatively reaching across the table to place my hand on his. He met my eyes again and smiled further, grasping my hand in his, knowing that this was my way of silently thanking him for sharing. He stared at me for a second longer, unconsciously grazing my hand with his thumb (which sent tingles shooting up and down my arm), and then something in his eyes seemed to snap as he came to a decision.

“You should get dressed,” he said, still stroking my hand. “I want to take you somewhere today.” He stopped grazing, to my disappointment, and pulled me up. A grin crossed his face. “Not that you don’t look ravishing in those pyjamas of yours.”

I blushed slightly and pulled my robe together with one hand, covering up my camisole and shorts combo (which, I am sure, showed him more than I was comfortable with after only a few days of knowing him). He began leading me over to my door, and shooed me inside my room.

“I’ll do the dishes while you dress,” he said, and then a wicked spark came into his eyes. “Unless, of course, you need some help changing...”

I gave him a slap upside the head. “Go and wash up, slave man,” I ordered, pointing to the coffee table. “You made the mess, you may as well clean it up.”

He pouted slightly, and I found myself staring unashamedly at his lips.

“Fine. But be quick,” he added. “If I finish earlier than you, I’ll think that something’s wrong and I’ll come bursting in here, and you probably don’t want me busting in when you’re half-naked. Although,” his eyes sparkled again. “I wouldn’t mind that at all.”

I shooed him away this time, feeling a mortified kind of embarrassment at the prospect, yet was embarrassingly eager at the same time. “Go and wash up! You’re putting bad thoughts into my head,” I said, reaching over to shut my door. He grinned wickedly at me.

“Only building on what’s already there, Lily.”

He ducked as I sent a blue missile, in the form of a shoe, his way. It missed, naturally, and hit the wall instead. Unfortunately, the shoe took the brunt of the impact, the already weak heel snapping as it collided. James grinned at me, and I fumed.

“You’re lucky I was going to throw those out anyway.”

~~~**~~*~~**~~~

Ten minutes later, I skipped out of my room and into the kitchen, where James was drying the last of the dishes. I laughed at the sight of him in a pair of bright pink rubber gloves as he wiped.

“Fetching,” I remarked cheerfully, dancing up behind him. “Bright pink is _so_ your colour.” I noticed the twinkle in his eye just in time, and stepped smoothly to the side as he flicked the soapy dishwater at me. I stuck my tongue out at him childishly. “Missed me!”

He put the last dish down and turned around. I began to back away slowly when I caught sight of the soapy sponge in his hand and the evil look on his face. “Don’t you even think about it,” I warned, groping behind me for the door.

“Think about what?” he had begun tossing the sponge from hand to hand, sending soap suds flying. Inevitably, he hurled it at me, which sent me screaming and ducking behind the door for cover. The sponge hit the door instead and fell with a thud.

I peeked back into the kitchen, still hiding behind the door. The sponge was now lying on the floor, and soap suds were _everywhere_. James was still grinning annoyingly at me. “I just changed!” I protested. “And I like this outfit, so don’t ruin it for me, especially if you’re taking me somewhere nice.”

“Hmm...” James picked up the sponge, and tossed it back into the sink. He ripped the rubber gloves off his hands and threw them aside too. “Sounds fair. Want you to look nice for them.”

“Look nice for who?”

“You’ll see.”

I glared at him for a moment, but I only received a knowing grin in return. Growling in annoyance, I spun around and headed for the front door. I was halfway out and marching down the stairs before I heard James’ footsteps and he caught up to me easily in three long strides. Damn him and his long legs.

He dangled my keys in front of my eyes, and I grabbed them from him, flushing slightly.

“Thanks.”

“You’re welcome,” he said, and slid an arm around my waist. I smiled inwardly at the contact, marvelling in the fact that it seemed so easy and comfortable for us to stand together like this. A slight tingle ran through me at that moment, and I decided to make good use of it, by turning to him and smiling brightly when we reached the street.

“So. Where are we going?”

We had begun to stroll down the street at a leisurely pace, a direct contrast to the manic drivers on the road beside us. He shook his head, and this time, I pouted like a little girl. He sighed at the expression on my face.

“Do you have any idea what you do to me when you look like that?”

I grinned and skipped happily along. “No, but I have a pretty good idea. Where are we going?” He looked at me for a moment longer, before pressing a light kiss to my forehead.

“To see my life. Starting with my café.”

I stared incredulously up at him, pulling back slightly. “You own a café?”

“Nothing Starbucks-esque,” he assured me. “Just a quaint little coffee shop, about two minutes from here. Needed something to keep my income coming in after I moved from England. That’s why I was around here the day after we met – checking out the competition.”

I remembered my words from that day too.

_“‘You still owe me a coffee...’”_

“So I made you buy from your competitors,” I said, laughing. “Bet they loved that.”

We continued to poke fun at each other until James brought us to a halt. “Okay... before we go inside, you should know that I don’t actually come here often,” he admitted. “I only own the place... I gave it to my friend Remus to run. All I have to do is throw some money in and sign a few papers. And occasionally turn up when I can’t be bothered to cook.”

“So you live off coffee and muffins?” I teased him, lightly tapping his stomach with my finger. “No wonder you’re getting a little...” He raised his eyebrows at my unfinished sentence, and his arm around my waist tightened.

“Watch it, now,” he growled playfully. I giggled and gave him a quick kiss, which immediately softened him up. He leant towards me, intent on capturing my lips for a longer and more satisfying kiss, but I twisted out of his reach.

“Not here,” I hissed at him, casting a quick look at the open-air area of his café, and the customers that were sitting around the small tables watching us with undisguised interest. But then again, they’re French; they love a good romance.

_Did I just say romance?_

James suddenly let out an ear-splitting roar of delight that sent him bounding to the door and me covering my ears, cringing – I think he underestimates just how _loud_ he can be sometimes. I gingerly removed my hands from my ears, checking to see if the coast was clear and my eardrums wouldn’t explode, when I saw him grinning and waving me over.

That was when I took my first look at his café.

It wasn’t huge, just a normal-sized area. Outside there were several black cast-iron chairs and tables set up, with large umbrellas for shade, all forming a path up to the main door. The café itself had a mahogany décor on the outside, with golden letters proudly declaring it as ‘ _Around The Corner_ ’. Inside, however, the elegant look vanished and the warm, cosy bright colours took over. Colourful, mismatched armchairs were paired with wonderfully created oak chairs. A large yellow couch was set up in a corner of the room. It was a cross between somebody's family room and their kitchen. Everything was warm, and sunny and kind of... fuzzy. It was homely.

Impossibly beautiful on the outside, but warm and touching inside.

It was _so_ James.

He held out his hand to me when I came close enough, and grinned as he pulled me close. “Lily,” he said, positively beaming, turning the two of us around to face the shorter, fair-haired man that he was talking to. “This is my friend Peter. He’s visiting this week and apparently forgot to tell me.” He gave him a mock-glare, and the two of them burst out laughing. I felt my chest swelling happily at the sound – they were obviously extremely close, like brothers.

Peter then held his hand out to me. “So you must be the girl that James worships the ground you walk on,” he grinned. Laughing, I shook his hand, sneaking a look at James.

“Worship, huh?” I nudged James, who shrugged nonchalantly.

“You _are_ utterly irresistible, Lily.”

I flushed slightly as the three of us entered the café, heading up to the counter. “Sit,” James said, firmly planting me down on one of the stools in front of it. He stood close behind me, while Peter sat down to my left, and both bellowed, at the same time: “REMUS!”

I once again cringed at the sound, and an amused chuckle came from somewhere in front of me, getting louder as its owner came closer. A sandy-haired, tired-yet-friendly-looking man appeared in front of me this time, a cup in each hand.

“Shout a little louder next time,” he said. “I don’t think a man in a coma on the sixth floor of a hospital in _Argentina_ heard you.” He placed the cups he was holding in front of James and Peter, and turned to me. “Hi. I’m Remus. You must be Lily.”

I nodded and smiled. “Nice to meet you.”

“Likewise. I’ve heard a lot about you. And when I say a lot, I mean a _lot_.” He looked over to James. “Mate, I know Sirius said she was pretty, but I don’t think he did her enough justice.”

I blushed, and James growled playfully at Remus. “Back off, Lupin. She’s mine.”

Remus and Peter laughed, and I felt a funny churning in my stomach. _His_. Normally I would be offended by anyone claming me as 'theirs', and would argue my own independence... but then again, he was _mine_ too.

I ordered a green tea from Remus, who spoke to James about recent business as he made it. James himself was still standing close behind me, his fingers brushing lightly against my arm as they spoke. Peter was sipping his coffee on my other side when suddenly a certain _someone_ thumped him on the back and he choked, practically drenching the waiter behind the counter.

I hid a laugh and Peter turned around to glare at his attacker.

“Sirius, if you weren’t my friend and kept me amused, I swear to Lucifer that I’d castrate you.”

Sirius let out his bark-like laugh and turned to me, winking. “Get in line, Pete. Lily’s friend threatened the exact same thing two days ago.”

“It was your own fault for provoking her...” Remus pointed out fairly.

Sirius rolled his eyes. “Presented with a good-looking girl, you would have said the same thing.”

“No we wouldn’t. We’re not all manwhores like you.”

We all snickered, and Sirius pretended to pout.

I gestured to his face. “Your nose healed fast... Lia’ll be disappointed. She thought she did more damage.” I turned to the others. “She has a wicked right hook; you wouldn’t want to get on the wrong side of her.”

Sirius winced at the memory as the others laughed. “So where is the perfectly violent Miss Reeser today?” he asked, leaning casually against Peter (who protested that he was _not_ a leaning post).

“She has a ‘plan’,” I replied, complete with air quotes. “And I don’t like to be around Lia when she has a plan... particularly those with potentially life-threatening, end-of-the-world type results.”

All four of them winced this time.

“And what brings you here today?” Sirius asked. A reminder suddenly went off in my head, and I spun around again.

“James here promised me, and I quote: ‘to see my life, starting with my café,’” I eyed him apprehensively. “So where do you plan on going next?”

James wrapped his arms around me and gestured to his friends. “They are my life. They have the stories.”

My eyes twinkled with mischief. “Really... so who wants to go first?”

~~~**~~*~~**~~~

The next two hours consisted of me, James and his friends gathered around the counter, and them sending me into hysterics over the stories they told me about what they had gotten up to.

There was the incident with the Muggle police (of course, to them, it was just the police), which ended up with the four of them locking their arresting officers to the bars in their jail cell with their own handcuffs; the accident at the amusement park which led to an old lady bashing Sirius over the head with an umbrella; and some unfathomable event which involved a racoon, a glass of milkshake, and a crossbow.

I can honestly say that I’ve never met anyone like these four in my entire life.

They were just so full of _life_. They had done everything everyone in the world had ever wanted to do, and more. They were the epitome of what life should be like.

I was now on my fifth green tea, and struggling to stop my stomach exploding from the laughter that they were the cause of as the four of them told yet another story of some escapade they had a few years ago.

“...we’re about halfway down this path, and it’s dark, so we can’t see a thing...” Peter was saying, grinning from ear to ear. “Suddenly there’s this huge massive light shining in our faces...”

“Naturally, we try to shield ourselves from it,” Remus continued, his own grin evident. “Sirius and Peter here, however, thinks that the mothership has landed and start screaming: ‘Alien attack! Alien attack! Then James turns to me and says – ”

“I knew we should have turned left!” James and Remus echoed in unison, which sent us all into a new wave of hysterics.

“And then the light dies down a little,” Sirius said, his eyes sparkling. “Just enough to let us see properly, so Peter and I stop screaming, and then there’s this huge crowd of preteens, Scouts, I think, staring at us and holding a flashlight... then we’re silent for a moment, just gawking at each other...”

“...and then Sirius throws the cans of tuna in their faces and we leg it!” Peter finishes, leading the five of us into yet another round of hysterical, almost manic laughing fits. I was clutching my stomach as I laughed, James leaning on me trying to stifle his own chuckles, and the others were just flat-out howling with no restraint.

“Those poor kids...” I mused, wiping a tear from my eye. “A perfectly nice and normal camping trip and then they’re interrupted by a bunch of apparent _adults_...”

“Hey,” James protested. “I bet we made their whole weekend with that. Cleaning their hair of tuna excluded, of course...” He turned to me, a mischievous beam present. “I think I preferred the water fight at the orphanage with you, though.”

I whacked his arm as the four of them burst out laughing at my expense, but my newfound sense of humour pushed me into joining them before long. “I have to go to the bathroom,” I said. “Thanks for making me laugh so much my throat is dry and I’ve had to drink five cups of tea...”

“Our pleasure,” the four of them chorused, and I rolled my eyes as I slipped out of James’ embrace and my chair to the bathroom.

Luckily there was no queue, and I slipped in quickly. I caught sight of my face in the mirror; my eyes were sparkling, my cheeks were flushed (and for once, not in embarrassment), and there was a seemingly unstoppable smile plastered across my face. I looked at that girl in the mirror, one that was becoming lightly tanned, without that constant look of worry and thought on her face, and looked completely carefree. I reached out to the mirror to touch my reflection.

_Is that really me?_

I smiled at myself one last time, and then quickly reached for my phone in case Lia had left me any messages (I had definitely learnt my lesson following yesterday). Sure enough, there was a message telling me that I had voicemail.

“Lily!” Lia’s voice crowed. “You are going to love me forever! I managed to get another meeting with the ambassador tomorrow night. Just a little favour from my lovely daddy... for once in my life, I’m actually glad that I'm the baby and my family is so well connected... don’t you dare miss this meeting, Lily Evans!”

I snapped the phone shut, grinning still. Boy, was I glad that I had taught Lia how to use a phone. Sending me a Patronus in the broad daylight in view of Muggles was _not_ a good idea, no matter what open-minded city you were in.

I skipped out of the bathroom, and just about to loudly announce my reappearance to the boys when I caught my name in a snippet of their conversation.

“...definitely,” Sirius was saying. “Lily’s definitely the one to look out for, boys!”

“How much?” Remus asked, apparently ignoring Sirius’ words and going back to whatever they were talking about before. The other two leant closer to James, eager for his answer too. James frowned.

“Too much. She’s... let’s put it this way – I feel like I was a man wandering alone in the desert, and found an oasis when I least expected it. After these past few days... I can’t imagine what life without her is going to be like.”

“Problem number one,” Sirius pointed out. “She’s going to have to leave eventually, you know. She’s not staying here forever.”

James sighed. “I know. And I’m dreading that day. The annoying thing is – I don’t know when that day will be. It could be tomorrow, or next week, or next summer... she says she’s staying here until whatever she and Lia are here to do is finished. I can’t prepare for it.”

“Which brings us to problem number two,” Peter put in. “Why is it that she and her friend are here? They’re certainly not just on holiday.”

“She won’t say much about it. It’s top-secret stuff – she and Lia are in law enforcement. Like secret police. It’s not the normal kind of police, though – she’s definitely one of us. Actually, more correctly, one of _them_.”

I froze.

“And that rounds off to problem number three,” Remus said. “She has absolutely no idea who _you_ are. How can you have a future with her if you have to hide half of yourself?”

“I know, but I can’t face telling her. How do you think she’s going to react when she finds out that I’m a – ”

I had heard enough.

“Hello, boys,” I said breezily, sweeping back to my seat gracefully. They immediately clammed up and smiled at me, although those smiles, for the first time that day, were not filled with amusement, but with slight... guilt. “Miss me?”

“James did,” Sirius said, and everyone laughed despite the relative un-funniness of the joke. Again, for the first time that day, that laughter was tinged with something else.

Insecurity.

They were worried.

About what?

Sirius and Peter cleared off not long after, claiming that Peter was exhausted from his trip and needed to sleep, and Sirius was expected somewhere else. That left James, Remus and I still around the counter, but James was soon hailed by a group of people that had just entered and went to greet them.

“Regulars,” Remus explained, as I watched James laugh and clap one of them on the back, joining their table for the moment. “Been coming here for years.”

“Everyone here seems so close,” I said, my eyes still on James. He caught my eye and smiled back – one of the group caught him and immediately pounced. Remus chuckled quietly behind me.

“Vultures,” he said in an undertone to me. “See the brunette – the one with the long hair? Her name's Adèle. She’s been after James for years but he’s never given her the time of day. They’ve been wondering for a while if he’s gay.”

We both snickered.

“Then you show up,” Remus continued. “So now they’re all ready to jump, and are filled with questions. The main one being, why you and not her.”

“I’ve been wondering that myself, actually,” I admitted. Remus raised an eyebrow.

“You’re joking, right?”

I shook my head. “I’m still waiting to wake up from this dream. He’s just too insanely perfect and it feels too good to be true. I’m afraid that if I blink, even for a moment, all of this – _James_ – will disappear.”

“Lily.” Remus’ voice became suddenly serious, causing me to stare at him as he leant closer. “I’ve never met anyone as perfect for James as you. You make him so unbelievably happy that it gets a little unbearable at times,” we both managed to crack grins. “Honestly, I was a little cynical before I met you today – how can someone have such an effect on him in just a few days? And then I saw the two of you together outside earlier-”

I had a sudden flashback of the two of us together.

“-and I had no doubt that you were her. The one that made James so happy, so carefree, in a way that he hasn’t been in a very long time. One of the customers in here even asked me if you were his wife. _Everyone_ was watching you.”

I hid a smile, remembering yesterday, and the newlyweds we were pretending to be.

“You two,” Remus continued. “Are so good for each other. From what I’ve heard, even you’ve managed to loosen up and had your first day off work in years since you’ve met him.”

“Something Lia’s been telling me to do for years,” I said. “And something that I never accomplished until three days ago. I feel like I’ve been keeping my head down for years, and he finally showed me the light. As tacky as that sounds.”

“I’m all for the tack,” Remus laughed. “The more the better. He’s been wooing you the old-fashioned way, with flowers everyday, right?”

I nodded.

“He has never given anyone flowers in his entire life, not even his mother.”

My heart suddenly swelled with emotion. I was torn between joy, and disbelief. But then the mention of James’ mother caught me, and I became suddenly curious. Here was a perfect opportunity to find out about James – as close as he and his friends were, I was positive that Remus would have known Mrs Potter well.

“That’s the thing,” I said, choosing my words carefully. “I don’t know much, if anything about James. I wouldn’t know if he’s ever given flowers to anyone before – because he doesn’t talk about his past.”

Remus laughed, but I sensed some falsehood in that laugh. “James is like that. All for living in the moment.”

I stared at Remus a little longer, trying to psych myself up. “I know... but I can’t help but think that he’s...” I hesitated, not knowing whether I should cross this line. I took a deep breath. “I think he’s hiding something from me.”

“But,” Remus replied, his tone polite but clipped. “Remember the two of you have only known each other for three days. There’s still a lot that you don’t know about each other. It's not that surprising even if he is.”

Remus and I both knew that was as much as he could say without outright lying. We stared at each other for a moment longer, the warm, comfortable and friendly atmosphere from before turning tense.

I now knew that James was definitely hiding something from me – and Remus knew that I was doing the same to James.

“Will you excuse me for a moment?” I asked politely. Remus nodded, the two of us ignoring the fact that I had only gone to the bathroom five minutes ago.

I stood up and hurried to the bathroom again, pulling my phone out of my pocket as I did so. I quickly shut the door behind me and dialled Lia’s number.

_Come on, pick up, pick up..._ I stared at my reflection in the mirror as I waited, my face no longer flushed and excited.

My smile was gone and I was now the exact opposite. Jittery. Apphreneive. And maybe even a little afraid.

“Helllleeeeeeeoooooo?” Lia crowed, finally.

I turned away from my reflection. “Lia, it’s me.”

“Lily!” she shrieked excitedly. “How did breakfast with your man-candy go? I saw the mess the two of you left in the kitchen...” she giggled. “I’m almost afraid to ask what you did... or maybe that's just my filthy mind. There, I admitted I have a filthy mind. Happy?”

“Lia.” My tone was anxious and tense, something that Lia picked up on immediately. If she couldn’t sense my moods by now, she had been my best friend all these years for nothing. She was suddenly all business.

“What happened?”

“Lia,” I repeated, gripping the door handle tightly, watching my knuckles turn white at the effort. “Lia, I need you do something for me.”

She was worried. “Anything.”

“I need you to read that letter. I need you to find out who he is.”


End file.
